Bitterness

I haven't talked to my 16 year old nephew in over a year. He kind of took a wrong turn due to too many people becoming involved in his life....namely, his grandmother, for giving his biological mother the money to fight his father (grandmother's son) for custody of the child. Now, I have a great niece that is 7 months old, that I've never met due to the fact that I told her mother exactly how I felt about their irresponsible move to decide to have a child. If it was THEIR decision. I was told that if I couldn't be happy for them that I could go to, well you know. I proceeded to tell the naive 17 year old (already mother of a 2 year old at that time) that life was hard enough without complicating it with a child before you were ready both emotionally and financially. To which she responded....life is only as hard as you let it be. SERIOUSLY? Only in the mind of a child who has not lived is that possible.

I miss my nephew dearly, and would love to meet his pride and joy. I hate that he has to walk such a difficult path, he has soooo much potential. Notice, I said has, not had. He still has many opportunities ahead of him. Hopefully he will get back on the right path, even if I'm not on it.

I love this boy as if he were my own child. He has had a rough life and I'm sure it's not going to get any easier any time soon. 17 years old and supporting a family of 4 is a huge responsibility. Especially when most places won't give you much above minimum wage. It's a big enough responsibility as a 35 year old, much less half that age.