Today is that day of the year when my sister Martha decides to get the whole family together for a dinner party. I like Martha, she has a peaceful husband and four well-behaved children, the problem is that my sister Joan is also going, who does everything to get noticed and this is just another opportunity to stand out. However, this is already a tradition of many years and if I didn’t go Martha would be devastated. She doesn’t deserve this kind of treatment, not only because no one on the outside has any idea what she goes through to have four well-dressed, neat and polite children. Poor David who works tirelessly to support the six members of his family, it was impossible to ask him for more. But people today don’t give enough importance to the role of a mother, to the sacrifices made for the children, to all that one has to give up and all that one has to be in order to simultaneously play the roles of trainer, friend, counselor, taking care of the smallest details to have a happy child smiling at you at the end of the day. 

 I am sorry I haven’t told Martha yet about the big news in my life: I have a new boyfriend. Until now I have been afraid of her reaction, after all he has a very complicated past, from bad choices when he was younger to the time he spent in prison. However, I know him better than anyone and things are not simple, he is sweet, nice and kind, and a man’s choices cannot be easily pointed out or judged. He is not a former inmate, he is just Michael. The worst thing is to get this into the heads of others, even the kind Martha, who usually understands me so well. If I tell her just like that, "my new boyfriend is an ex-convict," she would freak out. I’ll have to think carefully about how to speak with her. And what would become of me if Joan found out before everyone else? A total disaster, the end of the world. Cruel as she is, she would spread it to the ends of the earth with the utmost evil. 

To someone who doesn’t know us, nobody would say we are sisters: if it is true that we may have some similar physical characteristics, the way she dresses and how she puts on makeup is more like a prostitute, dresses too short and paints too garish. She is a predator, hunting men and mercilessly tearing her victims apart. Joan is like that, with no great values in life. She is the most selfish creature I have ever met, doesn’t care about anyone but herself. She doesn’t even think about having children, it’s an exclusive dedication she would be unable to compromise. She doesn’t understand me because she doesn’t know what it is to have a child, the responsibility, the time spent. I would rather have the opportunity to go out to dinner every day, meet new people and spend my weekends on parties or outings. Just last month I had to hire a babysitter to be able to work the hours that my boss decided I have to work extra. Lisa, who is twenty years old, was recommended to me by a friend and is perfect for the job: attentive to my son George, responsible, a true miracle worker, because I can be at work and have peace of mind. God knows how insufferable and undisciplined he can be.

Next Chapter: Joan - January 8th