To the society’s relief, the terrifying month of August was passing quickly. After four disastrous tornados swept through Picher, Oklahoma, the city had become a desolate area with a total population of ten people. Among these ten people, I, Courtney Turner, and my family, father Robert Sanchez, mother Ava Sanchez, and husband Zack Turner, make up forty percent of the city’s population. Due to the weather, it seems to have been decades since I last seen my parents; however, as of today my spirits are boosted to an all time high because my father called and asked if Zack and I would like to come over for a family reunion. Of course, I accepted their invite and immediately demanded Zack to get ready for our reunion. Upon our arrival to my parent’s …show more content…
“Hey mom, does someone else live here with you and dad?” I asked out of curiosity. “Why would you think that sweetheart? Your father and I have lived her by ourselves since you moved out twenty years ago.” she replied. “No reason.” I responded. “Well Mrs. Sanchez, the meal was lovely, but I feel it is time for Courtney and me to be adventuring home.” Zack said with the same expression he had when we arrived. Just as Zack and I were heading to the front door to leave, a roaring wind came and went carrying an angry cloud of rain and hail with it. “Well Zack, looks like we are having a sleep over with my parents tonight.” I smirked. “I will show you to your room then.” my mother said with a huge smile shooting across her face. “Do we really have to stay?” Zack asked precariously. “I mean, we could try to outrun the storm. We have done it before.” “No Zack, we barely survived that incident. I will not go through that again.” I shot back in response. Then the sound occurred again, right above our room. The sound seemed to follow me as I adventured the house. “Do you hear that too, Zack?” “Hear what?” he replied. “Nothing. Nevermind.” I hesitantly said. As the night came to a close, I crawled into bed and began to drift off into a deep …show more content…
“Where have they gone?” I asked myself conscientiously. Still in an attempt to retrieve light, I managed to carry myself outside; however, when I opened the front door, I knew the sight I just witnessed would stay imprinted in my mind forever. My parent’s house was the only building left standing . . . tornado number five had swept the city and this time it left its mark for good. “How could such a thing happen?” I asked myself trying to logically think of every situation that could cause this occurrence. Now in a desperate need of finding someone, I scampered through every room and searched for any sign of a person; by my seventh roundabout of the house I concluded that no one was in the house anymore. I was alone . . . literally the last person, for all I know, in Picher,
Child welfare workers are responsible to make decisions that directly benefit families; maintaining the best interest of the child(ren) involved. Thus, advocating for incarcerated parents is vital in working towards family success. When safety concerns are not present, we must advocate for visitations between children and their incarcerated parents as we have learned that this is necessary for the child’s sense of safety and wellbeing. In addition, parent and child visitations also assist with reducing the rate of recidivism. Disappointingly, the barriers discussed in this paper are a hindrance regarding reunification for many families. On a micro level, we must do our due diligence to eliminate some of these barricades that contribute to family instability and threatens children’s development. This can be achieved by working closely with the incarcerated parents, prison support staff, children’s caregivers, and other interagency professionals; collaborating towards the purpose of maintaining the separated family as united as possible.
Turning on my heel, I headed into the main sitting room to find a horrendous site. Andrew, Courtney, Jane, Spinner, and a few of their other friends sat around on the luxury couches and arm chairs. I was still pissed at Andrew ever since our blowout about kissing him and him not paying me enough attention. My mouth flattened into a line as I gracefully collapsed onto one of the armchairs. "What the hell are you doing here?" I growled, locking eyes with my twin. "Mom suggested that we should come and visit while we're in New York. Look Samantha , I-" he attempted, but I cut him off with a sharp glare. "Talk to someone who cares Andrew", I growled, checking my messages. "Samantha he just wants-" Courtney started, but was interrupted by another voice. I turned my head and saw my little sister standing in the door way.
I stood at the end of the driveway with a bag of clothes and my little sisters by my side. My dad pulled up, we got in the truck, and we drove about 10 minutes until we got to his shop. This would seem like a normal day, but things were different this time. We weren 't at the shop to ride the four wheelers around or to play basketball in the garage or to mess with the pinball machines. There was a gloomy feel about everything around us. Even though I didn’t say anything, I knew things were changing.
A guilty feeling surged through me as I snuck out of church early, but I could not wait any longer to show my friend, Jonathan, my new Chevrolet Cavalier. As I raced out of the parking lot, I heard ambulance sirens in the distance, and I felt a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach as if butterflies were fluttering around trying to get out. I paid the feeling no mind as I merged onto the interstate at Gray and headed toward Johnson City. Little did I know those sirens would change my life forever.
During his youth in the summer, it was customary for Merit Myer and his parents to visit family members that lived out of state. The reunions themselves were things Merit did not care for, but everything else was, all in all, fun. The car trips were filled with cool conditioning, rest stop food, and sleeping with oldie music playing was pleasant enough. He would consider it a big bonus if said reunions took place near an amusement park and had cozy living arrangements. He was generally quiet and was not adept at being social with people that were strangers to him. Family to him was his to his mom and dad, aunts, uncles, and cousins that lived nearby and/or saw on a yearly basis. It was hard for him connecting to the larger family of distant family members he hardly sees or talks to in less than a week. It didn't help that he was socially awkward and had interests most of his family didn't share. He would often feel out of place and just wanted to have fun and relax. On one stop during a family road trip at the age of 12,
Last night was the first time in the longest time that my sleep was disrupted by something other than the haunting calls of police sirens and the cries of my dangerously twisted father. The booms and crashes of thunder broke me free from the nightmare I’d been having ever since I was town from my home and forced into the witness protection program. The nightmare with my sister’s shouts for help. The nightmare that caused me to wake up screaming in the middle of the night.
Not a soul came back that day. Or the next. Or any time after that. The school was shut down, and most people fled for the hills. Others didn’t believe the story and stayed in their homes. Later, in the evening the spirits came lingering back into the town and into people's house. Soon the town was abandoned, and all that was left were everyone’s
Our imperative family tradition was a summer vacation. Completely neglecting any responsibilities for a week, vacations were the perfect excuse. Fostering an environment for bonding, our annual vacations helped in creating lifelong memories. According to a Disney Time Survey conducted by Kelton, 82% of time on vacation is considered family time. This finding is evident, especially in one of my recent vacations. The months preceding and following this specific family trip, were filled with various milestones which prohibited much bonding: my mother’s diagnosis of Lung Cancer, my older sister’s wedding day, and my senior year preparation. If it wasn’t for our last hurrah, we may not have been able to successfully sit the needed amount of time
I grew up in a small town called Buford. When I was going through school at Buford there weren’t as many students as there are today. Today we are busting out of the school and people are desperate to find houses in the school district. I’ve been told my whole life that my “entire” family has gone through Buford City Schools and lived in Buford since we can remember. On one side of my family tree, they really have all gone to Buford, but on the other side the line of alumni doesn’t go as deep. Ken, my father, is the park and recreational director. He is over cutting and painting the high school football field and is in charge of little league football and basketball. My uncle, Chris, is on a City Commissioner so my families name is a known name in the community, sometimes it’s a good thing and sometimes it’s a bad thing. My parents knew what I had done, good
Everyone seems to define family differently, however, the significance of family is the same. For you, family means everything. You can always count on your parents and siblings for help and love. Family is very valuable and important to you and should never be taken for granted. No one can deny that family is the foundation of our generation. A family is where we all start our life journey and helps us grow to be successful throughout our lives.
There are many differences between friends and family, such as whether the relationship will change, what kind of relationships they have and if they live together or not. Each parts show the essential differences between them.
My family is interesting when you look at it. Since my parents are immigrants some aspects of our culture are missing in America. Here we live just like any other nuclear family. It is my parents, myself, and my siblings. However, I am confident that if my family resided in Pakistan, rather than the United States, we would be living in an extended family household. One of my uncles that live in Pakistan stays with my grandparents and another, who used to live in Pakistan, did the same before he moved here. This is same with my mother’s side. My uncle who lives there also lives with his mother and father and I cannot imagine why my father would follow suit. I guess you could say that my father and mother are living neolocally; but in reality
There are so many different types of family relationships. Whatever form a family takes; it is an important part of everyone’s life. My family has played an important role in my life. Good family relationships serve as a foundation to interactions with others. Supportive families will help children to thrive. The quality of the family relationship is more important than the size of the family. Making the relationships priority, communication, and providing support for one another is key to developing relationships. Family relationships are what make up our world today; they shape the ways that we see things and the ways that we do things.
"The great gift of family life is to be intimately acquainted with people you might never even introduce yourself to, had life not done it for you." -Kendall Hailey. Many people among us think that a family reunion is boring. It is an unpleasant social affair where our parents drive us to go and stay there for a considerable length of time. There are odd individuals who come to us and kiss or embrace us while we are still considering "do I know him/her?”. It is because we believe that enjoying the holiday out with friends is much better than investing hours with the people, we “unfortunately” belong to. They have no other subject for discussion aside from our studies and grades. On the other hand, family gathering is always a new experience for someone who lives far away from his blood relations.
There are six people in my family. This includes my husband Jason and our four children. Their names are Tyler, Paige, Lyla, and Hayden. Tyler and Paige are from my first marriage and Lyla and Hayden are from my marriage with Jason. We also have two cats, named Gizmo and Elizabeth. Our house is very full, but we love it because it is always warm and welcoming. (Becky’s family is blended because of her two marriages. This is different from my family because my sisters and I all grew up with the same mother and father).