Jester
07-04-2008, 12:27 PM
I have mentioned my nieces Princess and Dragon in here before, on more than one occasion.
Well, their mother, Abbey, was the assistant manager of the apartment complex we all live in. Notice the tense: was. As in, no longer is.
The corporation that bought the property last year came in a few weeks ago and, with no notice, fired Abbey and her boss L., and also gave them very little time to get out of their apartments. Abbey and L. have retained a lawyer, and may get some compensation for all this, but they will not be getting their jobs back.
As Abbey has been considering moving back home to Texas for some time, she is taking this opportunity to do just that. As Princess is going to be a senior in high school, and only has one year until college, she will be staying here in Key West to finish high school. She has rented an off-house apartment (guest house type thing, I think) just a bit up the Keys at a friend's family's place, and has just recently gotten her license, so she will be somewhat self-sufficient. (Also her father's child support will continue until her 18th birthday in December, only now they will go to her for her rent rather than to Abbey for Princess's care.)
So I will still be seeing Princess fairly often, as she works at the museum attached to The Bar, and I am one of the local contacts listed with her high school for her, and, let's face it, I AM her uncle. So while right now she thinks I am being a bit of a mother hen, when she needs help or advice, I do believe she'll be coming around. But at the moment, her mom and sister are driving her nuts, her boyfriend is away at whatever Marine base he's at, and she is moving out for the first time in her life. So of course she is invincible and knows everything and is finally FREE. She'll learn, of course, as well all did. :rolleyes:
But sadly, I am losing two great friends....Abbey, who I've known almost as long as I've been in Key West, and Dragon, who has become the niece closest to me. She IS my sous chef when I start cooking in the kitchen and need help....she was the one who helped me put out that four course 20 person sit down Labor Day dinner, and she is the most like me of all my nieces. We both have manic-depressive tendencies, and much of what she is going through now, I went through when I was a teenager....though of course I was neither a resident of Key West nor a female! But because of the psychological and personality similiarities, I have often been able to relate to her better than her mother has, and so have often been employed by her mother to counsel her, talk to her, etc. Also, she will tell me things she won't tell her mother, and oftentimes, I will be able to read her and have a good idea of what is going on with her even when she doesn't tell me in so many words. Of my nieces, she really is the closest one to a daughter I have.
And I know, I know.....I am not losing them, per se. They are only moving several hundred miles away, and with today's technology, I will still talk to them often. But....and but....and but. I won't be able to comfort Dragon with hugs. I won't be able to menace her boyfriends. (She may enjoy this part, but I also won't be able to "correct" any boys who do her wrong.) There are so many things that technology, as good as it is, won't allow me to do. At least, though, she will have her grandfather there, and lord knows he can be a mean cuss (in a good way) when he needs to be.
Although I have gained a good amount through this departure (new bookcase, new kitchenware, other stuff they're leaving behind), I would gladly give it all back to have them stay. That being said, it is a bit ironic that I plan on leaving in one more year myself, heading back to my beloved Arizona. I just figured I'd have at least another year before this parting would take place.
Today as a nation we celebrate our independence. And no doubt Princess is thrilled with her newfound independence as well. But today, as we all celebrate with fireworks and beer and picnics and whatnot, my celebrations with my friends will be muted knowing that Abbey and Dragon are driving out of the Keys, out of Florida and, to a degree, out of my life. :(
Well, their mother, Abbey, was the assistant manager of the apartment complex we all live in. Notice the tense: was. As in, no longer is.
The corporation that bought the property last year came in a few weeks ago and, with no notice, fired Abbey and her boss L., and also gave them very little time to get out of their apartments. Abbey and L. have retained a lawyer, and may get some compensation for all this, but they will not be getting their jobs back.
As Abbey has been considering moving back home to Texas for some time, she is taking this opportunity to do just that. As Princess is going to be a senior in high school, and only has one year until college, she will be staying here in Key West to finish high school. She has rented an off-house apartment (guest house type thing, I think) just a bit up the Keys at a friend's family's place, and has just recently gotten her license, so she will be somewhat self-sufficient. (Also her father's child support will continue until her 18th birthday in December, only now they will go to her for her rent rather than to Abbey for Princess's care.)
So I will still be seeing Princess fairly often, as she works at the museum attached to The Bar, and I am one of the local contacts listed with her high school for her, and, let's face it, I AM her uncle. So while right now she thinks I am being a bit of a mother hen, when she needs help or advice, I do believe she'll be coming around. But at the moment, her mom and sister are driving her nuts, her boyfriend is away at whatever Marine base he's at, and she is moving out for the first time in her life. So of course she is invincible and knows everything and is finally FREE. She'll learn, of course, as well all did. :rolleyes:
But sadly, I am losing two great friends....Abbey, who I've known almost as long as I've been in Key West, and Dragon, who has become the niece closest to me. She IS my sous chef when I start cooking in the kitchen and need help....she was the one who helped me put out that four course 20 person sit down Labor Day dinner, and she is the most like me of all my nieces. We both have manic-depressive tendencies, and much of what she is going through now, I went through when I was a teenager....though of course I was neither a resident of Key West nor a female! But because of the psychological and personality similiarities, I have often been able to relate to her better than her mother has, and so have often been employed by her mother to counsel her, talk to her, etc. Also, she will tell me things she won't tell her mother, and oftentimes, I will be able to read her and have a good idea of what is going on with her even when she doesn't tell me in so many words. Of my nieces, she really is the closest one to a daughter I have.
And I know, I know.....I am not losing them, per se. They are only moving several hundred miles away, and with today's technology, I will still talk to them often. But....and but....and but. I won't be able to comfort Dragon with hugs. I won't be able to menace her boyfriends. (She may enjoy this part, but I also won't be able to "correct" any boys who do her wrong.) There are so many things that technology, as good as it is, won't allow me to do. At least, though, she will have her grandfather there, and lord knows he can be a mean cuss (in a good way) when he needs to be.
Although I have gained a good amount through this departure (new bookcase, new kitchenware, other stuff they're leaving behind), I would gladly give it all back to have them stay. That being said, it is a bit ironic that I plan on leaving in one more year myself, heading back to my beloved Arizona. I just figured I'd have at least another year before this parting would take place.
Today as a nation we celebrate our independence. And no doubt Princess is thrilled with her newfound independence as well. But today, as we all celebrate with fireworks and beer and picnics and whatnot, my celebrations with my friends will be muted knowing that Abbey and Dragon are driving out of the Keys, out of Florida and, to a degree, out of my life. :(