When I was six, we moved into our own mobile home on my grandparent’s property. Though I now had my own space, I could still come and go from my grandparents’ house as freely as before.

I was also told that I was going to be a big sister. My brother arrived in August and I started first grade in September.

With my mom caring for the house and my new brother, I became Dad’s constant companion. I went everywhere with him, and while our bond strengthened, my relationship with my mom began to shift.

My dad worked for the highway department in our town. He occasionally took jobs truck driving which kept him on the road for a few days at a time. And my dad was a backyard mechanic. He had recently purchased a large house with a junkyard behind it, starting his own business. Whenever someone needed car parts or repairs, they would visit my dad at his junkyard.