“Hey kiddo, I have some news for you.” I heard my dad yell down the stairway when I got home from school that day.
As I always did I yelled back, “Alright”, making sure he knew I heard him.
To me this was a normal day, a normal month, in a normal time of the year. Little did I know my father would not be the one person I could see everyday for every much longer.
Steve Mitchel Smith was my favorite person in the whole world. He was my father, and my best friend. He was a strong 45 year old male, who is the nicest person I have ever net. He called my his angle and always kissed my forehead when he needed me to know he cared. He did charity work and always made sure I worked hard for my money, never getting off easy for something that I needed to work for. My dad was always there for me, and he knew my expressions, but most of all he knew how to cheer me up and get the old me back. The one thing that made my dad the dad I always wanted was the fact that he was always there for me even when he couldn't be.
If my day wasn't going bad enough between the big fight with my best friend, and the failing grade on my science test, all I knew was that I did not need to know the information my father told me when I got home.
I live in Manhattan, but don't get my wrong I do not have a lot of money. Most of the money that supports us is from my mothers family. My mother Anna Mitchel was an amazing women she was my number one fan until I was 11. On May 11, 2001 my mother and I were driving home from my horse back riding competition in northern New York when we were hit by a drunk driver. Our car was totaled and my leg was broken very bad but that wasn't the part that hurt me the most. My mother had been killed at 6:23 PM by a man we had never met. Someone took her life and changed mine forever.
My life was crushed. Nothing was ever going to be the same. The one person in my life that was a girl and who I could tell all my secrets to was gone. When I found out that my mother had passed away I ran away. I ran away thinking that maybe just maybe if I left the awful world I was living everything would just go away. I soon found out this was untrue. Because my parents both supported my I had no money, no life skills and I was living on the streets for about a week. I began to get into trouble, by joining a gang or so they told me. I would have to kill one person before they would let me into their “gang” called a KWNG. (kill with no gilt). I was charged for assault on a girl who was 8. When my father picked picked my up at the court house, he was crying. The man that I had never seen cry in my whole life, was crying because he missed me. I did not know what to do. Do I pretend that nothing had ever happened? Should I talk to him as a brand new person I was meeting? Or should I cry because I missed him with my whole heart to? If you could guess I picked number three. I cried; hard. Hard like the rivers in Niagara Falls. He meant everything to me and at that moment right there I never wanted him out of my life.
When I walked down stairs to talk to my dad I was not surprised to see him dressed in his uniform. My father Steve Mitchell was in the Army. He joined the week after my mother died. It had always been his dream that he could never pursue because my mother was to scared she would loose him. The thing I did not expect was for him to have his suit cases down from the attic.
My father said “Sit down Abbey, we need to talk”
I said “Sure.” thinking I had already put the puzzle together
“Abbey, I am being deployed.” He said. As I stood there looking at him silently, not knowing what to say.
“ Abbey this is one of the hardest thing I have ever had to tell you. I don't want to leave you but this is something that I need to do for myself and for your mother. I need to prove to her and myself that I am strong enough to survive through the struggles and the pain I will be going to.” He said as a tear rolled down his face.
No, no no no no no no, this cant happen! You cant leave me not again! Who and I going to live with, who will I love, who will be the best person in my life. You cant, u just can not leave me!!” I said as I started crying.
“ I have to go, I am leaving tomorrow, and you will be bringing me to the airport with your grandmother. You will be living with her at the apartment until I come back. Everything is going to be ok my angle”
The next day came quicker then I ever though possible. It was as if the time had been on fast forward until the time his plane was to take off. We dropped him off and said our goodbyes and as I see my father and my best friend walk away for what could be the last time a single tear falls from my eye.
Over the next six months my father and he sent me letters and we talked on the phone once a month. I lived my normal life with my grandmother by my side giving me support, but never giving me the love my father give me when ever he looked at me. I missed him with all my heart and I never thought that I would ever see him again, until I got the last letter from my father saying he would be returning in 3 weeks. Although the letter was the thing I was looking forward to the past five months the other information that came along with the good news would soon change me and my fathers life. The words that I wish I had never seen read like this:
My Angle, You know that I love you with all my heart and that I would do anything thing for you, but there is one thing that I need you to do for me.. I need to you to be there for me always. There is news that I need to tell you and I am not sure how you are going to take it. I have lost my leg in a car bombing last week. I am writing this letter at a hospital in Iraq, where tomorrow they will try to do reconstructive surgery hoping there will be some nerves left for me to us a prosthetic leg. I do not want this is worry you because I am as healthy as can be, and I can't wait to get home to see your beautiful face. Tell grandma that I say hi, and I will be writing everyday keeping you informed on my progress. See you in 3 weeks. Love you with all my heart my angle, Dad
As I am reading this my heart is pounding about to jump out of my skin. I love my father more then anything and he knows that I will always be there for him. And in three weeks, 21days I will be able to see my best friend who will have changed on the outside but will never change on the inside.
“Hey kiddo, I have some news for you.” I heard my dad yell down the stairway when I got home from school that day.
As I always did I yelled back, “Alright”, making sure he knew I heard him.
To me this was a normal day, a normal month, in a normal time of the year. Little did I know my father would not be the one person I could see everyday for every much longer.
Steve Mitchel Smith was my favorite person in the whole world. He was my father, and my best friend. He was a strong 45 year old male, who is the nicest person I have ever net. He called my his angle and always kissed my forehead when he needed me to know he cared. He did charity work and always made sure I worked hard for my money, never getting off easy for something that I needed to work for. My dad was always there for me, and he knew my expressions, but most of all he knew how to cheer me up and get the old me back. The one thing that made my dad the dad I always wanted was the fact that he was always there for me even when he couldn't be.
If my day wasn't going bad enough between the big fight with my best friend, and the failing grade on my science test, all I knew was that I did not need to know the information my father told me when I got home.
I live in Manhattan, but don't get my wrong I do not have a lot of money. Most of the money that supports us is from my mothers family. My mother Anna Mitchel was an amazing women she was my number one fan until I was 11. On May 11, 2001 my mother and I were driving home from my horse back riding competition in northern New York when we were hit by a drunk driver. Our car was totaled and my leg was broken very bad but that wasn't the part that hurt me the most. My mother had been killed at 6:23 PM by a man we had never met. Someone took her life and changed mine forever.
My life was crushed. Nothing was ever going to be the same. The one person in my life that was a girl and who I could tell all my secrets to was gone. When I found out that my mother had passed away I ran away. I ran away thinking that maybe just maybe if I left the awful world I was living everything would just go away. I soon found out this was untrue. Because my parents both supported my I had no money, no life skills and I was living on the streets for about a week. I began to get into trouble, by joining a gang or so they told me. I would have to kill one person before they would let me into their “gang” called a KWNG. (kill with no gilt). I was charged for assault on a girl who was 8. When my father picked picked my up at the court house, he was crying. The man that I had never seen cry in my whole life, was crying because he missed me. I did not know what to do. Do I pretend that nothing had ever happened? Should I talk to him as a brand new person I was meeting? Or should I cry because I missed him with my whole heart to? If you could guess I picked number three. I cried; hard. Hard like the rivers in Niagara Falls. He meant everything to me and at that moment right there I never wanted him out of my life.
When I walked down stairs to talk to my dad I was not surprised to see him dressed in his uniform. My father Steve Mitchell was in the Army. He joined the week after my mother died. It had always been his dream that he could never pursue because my mother was to scared she would loose him. The thing I did not expect was for him to have his suit cases down from the attic.
My father said “Sit down Abbey, we need to talk”
I said “Sure.” thinking I had already put the puzzle together
“Abbey, I am being deployed.” He said. As I stood there looking at him silently, not knowing what to say.
“ Abbey this is one of the hardest thing I have ever had to tell you. I don't want to leave you but this is something that I need to do for myself and for your mother. I need to prove to her and myself that I am strong enough to survive through the struggles and the pain I will be going to.” He said as a tear rolled down his face.
No, no no no no no no, this cant happen! You cant leave me not again! Who and I going to live with, who will I love, who will be the best person in my life. You cant, u just can not leave me!!” I said as I started crying.
“ I have to go, I am leaving tomorrow, and you will be bringing me to the airport with your grandmother. You will be living with her at the apartment until I come back. Everything is going to be ok my angle”
The next day came quicker then I ever though possible. It was as if the time had been on fast forward until the time his plane was to take off. We dropped him off and said our goodbyes and as I see my father and my best friend walk away for what could be the last time a single tear falls from my eye.
Over the next six months my father and he sent me letters and we talked on the phone once a month. I lived my normal life with my grandmother by my side giving me support, but never giving me the love my father give me when ever he looked at me. I missed him with all my heart and I never thought that I would ever see him again, until I got the last letter from my father saying he would be returning in 3 weeks. Although the letter was the thing I was looking forward to the past five months the other information that came along with the good news would soon change me and my fathers life. The words that I wish I had never seen read like this:
My Angle,
You know that I love you with all my heart and that I would do anything thing for you, but there is one thing that I need you to do for me.. I need to you to be there for me always. There is news that I need to tell you and I am not sure how you are going to take it. I have lost my leg in a car bombing last week. I am writing this letter at a hospital in Iraq, where tomorrow they will try to do reconstructive surgery hoping there will be some nerves left for me to us a prosthetic leg. I do not want this is worry you because I am as healthy as can be, and I can't wait to get home to see your beautiful face. Tell grandma that I say hi, and I will be writing everyday keeping you informed on my progress. See you in 3 weeks.
Love you with all my heart my angle,
Dad
As I am reading this my heart is pounding about to jump out of my skin. I love my father more then anything and he knows that I will always be there for him. And in three weeks, 21days I will be able to see my best friend who will have changed on the outside but will never change on the inside.