My cousin thought it would be âfunnyâ to shove me into the pool.
I told him not to.
Once. Twice. Three times.
I said, very clearly:
âDo not touch me.â
He laughed in front of everyone and threw me in anyway.
When I came up, my hearing aids were dead.
Completely destroyed.
Replacement cost: $6,000.
His response?
âI didnât know you were wearing them.â
Then he refused to pay.
Said it was âjust a joke.â
My family immediately took his side.
Their logic?
âYou make more money.â âHe has a baby.â âHeâs still in college.â âDonât ruin his future over an accident.â
But it wasnât an accident.
I warned him repeatedly.
He ignored me.
So I sued him.
And I won.
The court ordered him to pay the full amount.
He still didnât.
Now 20% of every paycheck he earns is automatically taken until the debt is paid.
He ended up dropping out of college because he couldnât keep up financially.
And somehowâŠ
Iâm the one the family calls cruel.
Apparently, in my family, respecting boundaries is optional.
But expecting adults to pay for the damage they cause?
That makes you the villain.
My daughter hasnât seen her biological father since she was 4. Sheâs 11 now.
Years ago, he asked if Iâd agree to terminate his parental rights so he could stop paying child support. I said yes. I figured losing the money was worth protecting her from a lifetime of broken promises and disappointment.
I never lied to her about him though. Whenever she had questions, I answered them honestly in the most age-appropriate way I could.
When she was 4, he reached out saying he had cancer and wanted to see her. I agreed. We planned a day at the park and he asked for two hours with her.
He stayed 20 minutes.
After that, we never heard from him again.
This summer we ran into someone who knows him. They casually mentioned how much my daughter looks like his other kids and explained that heâs married now with a whole family.
The second they said it, my heart sank. I immediately thought about how painful that must feel for her.
I wrapped up the conversation quickly and we got into the car. I looked over expecting sadness, anger⊠something.
Instead, she smiled.
She said, âMom⊠Iâm glad he figured out how to be a good dad. Thatâs really nice for his kids.â
And just like that, an 11-year-old taught me more about forgiveness than most adults ever could.
A guy I know lost both parents to a drunk driver. He got custody of his 3 siblings and had to drop out of uni to work and take care of them.
He used to joke a lot, always outside, always laughing. After it happened, he barely talked. Just always looked tired.
If this law had been in place it would have eased his burden a bit.