Pesticidal Sister 11.06.03

My lil sister called me today after working her first day at her new job. She is working on one of the lines at a pesticide company. She'll be the person who puts the informational inserts into the pesticide boxes as they come down the line. Sometimes, she will get to put bottles of bug-b-gone on the floor and watch to see if any of them leak and then the ones that do, she will put in a different box to be recycled.

The funny thing is I am so proud of her. She was truly one of those kids who fell through the cracks in our very dysfunctional school system. She just wasn't suited for a class room, at least not in her teen years. They pushed her through 8th grade just to get her out of the Jr high, to 'pass the problem' on to the high school...

She didn't make it through her first semester of her freshman year.

Anyway, years passed after that, and she did a lot of fucked up shit, but in the end she is 21 with two kids and an education up to 7th grade. She is really smart, she just has not idea of what the Pythagorean theorem is, or who our last 15 presidents were. She also, after all is said and done, is an excellent mother.

This is really her first job. She did telemarketing off and on for a year total, but she has never had to deal with the social craziness that is the workplace, so I can understand the fear that she is going through. It is good to see her make positive steps to improve her life.

I remember about 2 years ago rushing to my home town because they thought my baby sister had over dosed. She was living in the upstairs bedroom of my mom's house, and mom, having a hard time seeing when one of her kids is slipping, didn't see her falling so far into her meth addiction.

When I got to the hospital she was sleeping in her bed, all plugged into IVs and heart monitors. Mom said earlier in the evening a nurse was wheeling L. down the hall and L. was clenched up, her hands folded in fists under her chin and she was drooling on herself. I believe that night is when L. finally realized she had to do something to start living again. You can only chase that high, and false peace, for so long before you drop of exhaustion...next time she might not get up, and she had a daughter to raise.

My lil sister called me today to tell me about her new job. I was so proud of her. She ended the conversation like she always does, "I love you bro."

note: I just re-read this to check for spelling and other mistakes...and well, I felt like I was reading some Reader's Digest story...I am sorry that wasn't my intent. I was just feeling a bit of family pride. Ok, nevermind.