#cars

My son was named after both really. My dad was Kevin Lane, as is my Kevin. (Kevin is a definite familial name for me) so, my brother had the biggest heart imaginable. He loved cars and trucks, he loved cooking, he loved music, and he loved his family. My childhood wasn’t picture perfect. My brother looked after me as he had a car and was married to Angie at that point. They’d pick me up and get me out of situations here. Angie.. sigh. She was my sister. Even after her and my brother split up, we were close. She would call me upset she wasn’t with my brother. I’ve never seen two people love each other like those two. He’d walk through fire for her and her for him. They fought and then cry together three seconds later. 😂 After she died, my brother sunk deeper into addiction. He died the end of September that year.

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"A Mother's Love" by Alex

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In a perfect world, the only love that is greater than a mother's love is God's love. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world, nor we do get to choose our parents and that is why some of us experience abuse by our parents. If I could have a wish, I would wish that every human being could experience the unconditional love of mother and father, but that is a fantasy that does not reflect reality. And because of that fact, some of us must exist knowing that although we were abused, millions of other children were loved unconditionally.
We learn to pretend that our parents love us knowing full well that we are a burden or a mistake, born as a result of a drunken stupor. And so we pretend that we are loved and hope that nobody notices the contempt and hatred that emanate from mothers eyes whenever we come in contact with each other or make that solitary walk from the front door directly to our room where we sigh, ask God why, and then suffer in silence as our hearts break into a million pieces each and every day.
And then Valentines Day approaches, one of the most difficult days of the year, where society demands that we express our unconditional love for mother. And so we mow lawns, wash cars and deliver the newspaper, so that we can show our love for mother, knowing that moments after receiving the precious and thoughtful gift, it will be disposed of. Thrown into the trash as if it didn't matter, we didn't matter, I don't matter.
And so it's off to high school, then college and then our first professional job, where our friends and co-workers reminisce during lunch about their glorious childhoods and all of the family gatherings and shared experiences between family and friends. While we, the unwanted, the unloved, the mistake, sit in silence hoping that our co-workers and friends cannot tell that our smile is fake and that our hearts are irreparably torn to shreds, because as adults we fully appreciate how broken we are and that no amount of glue, duct tape or psychotherapy can mend our broken heart or put all of the humpty dumpty pieces back together.
So we live our forlorn lives as best we can, and try not burden our family and friends with our misfortune, because we know that everyone has their inner demons and that we are all struggling to survive and get through this earthly experience as best as we are able, knowing that when we finally suffer death, well... that's the intriguing element in our journey, isn't it? The fact that we really don't know why we exist, nor do we know with any certainty what awaits us upon death, if anything. And so the moral of this story is that life is a crap shoot, a roll of the dice, where some people win and other people lose. And it is up to each of us to learn from our experiences, forgive those who know not what they do, and to make positive contributions to our world. For in the end, I believe that God will judge us based upon our efforts.

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Within many places in Australia you're generally considered an irresponsible cat owner if you allow your cat/s to roam free, as cats (both domestic and stray) have caused a lot of harm to the wildlife and brought numbers of native animals down. So I'm inclined to believe everyone is better off if your cat remains within the house as much as possible - especially when you also add in the statistic of how many cats are killed by cars. 😓

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What's more, my parents were irresponsible cat owners in that they had two male cats at two different times in my life but never had either of them desexed, which lead to them spending the majority of their time outside of the home, getting into fights with other male cats (usually strays) and... well. 👀 This caused an influx of stray kittens around the neighbourhood for several years, and my cats ended up dying relatively young due to AIDS. That was always heartbreaking. In stark contrast, every desexed cat I've ever had has been a lot more chill and prefers lazing about at home, which has kept them and more of the animals in the area safe. *PLEASE* desex your cats, people.

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When my mom was younger, she unwrapped all her gifts and wrapped them all up before my grandma got home, weeks before Christmas. My mom to this day talks about how it was the worst Christmas and regrets it.
One year I found them. My mum kept them in the back part of her closet. After she left for the store in the morning, i dashed over and was amazed. Toy cars, action figures, colors!, amazement! Everything my young heart could feel for. Then the regret set in. No longer was there any more mystery or wonder. It vanished. I knew the running down the stairs on christmas morning would be phony. Childhood wonder stolen. That was the worst Christmas, even though I received the best presents.
We lived in pretty abject poverty, but one year this charitable organization gave my mom some stuff to give us for Christmas. I had wanted an Intellivision (for those under 40, it was a pretty cool game system that competed with the old Atari unit), and when I was snooping through my moms closet I found it. I was so excited that I didn't replace all the things that she had piled on top of it, and she found out I had been snooping a week before Christmas. She brought the Intellivision and the games that went with it out of the closet and put them, unwrapped, under the tree. Then she told me I wasn't allowed to play with them until a week after Christmas, the exact same amount of time I had opened them early.
Friend of mine and his brother one year found the unwrapped Nintendo games they wanted for Christmas, opened the boxes and carefully placed games they already played in the boxes. Their parents were none the wiser and when Christmas Day came they pretended to be super excited all the while playing weeks before! Played Minecraft all day. My dad made lasagna and pepperoni bread for dinner. We went to go see Christmas lights and are about to make cookies. I would say my Christmas Eve is going pretty good.

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My name is Freya but you can call me Frey. I currently live in London. I’m Welsh and was brought up in Cumbria from the age of 5. 🌾 For work, I’m in design engineering, working as a technician in a machine shop.

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🌸 Slightly more random childhood facts in no particular order… I grew up camping, travelling, climbing and skiing, catching frogs and building forts in the woods with my siblings. We loved water balloons, Yu-Gi-Oh cards, and air soft guns. Cozy coupe cars, jelly shoes, blacksmithing, the stars and alternative rock/grunge bands were my jam. I dreamed of living on a canal/narrowboat. I think the closest things to dolls that I really enjoyed was the doll house itself and Polly Pockets and what I enjoyed equally as much as playing with my toys was organising them 😂 I think I’m a type-A gal.

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I want a van life or something like that, it’s actually less about travel and more about simplicity. The less cluttered I keep my external life, the easier it is for me to think clearly. I’m more able to answer cliche but important questions. Knowing myself is something I really value and it makes me a better person to those around me. I feel much more present and at peace. 🤍

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I’m probably a classic 90s kid with a love of learning by doing.

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A few years back a guy pointed gun at me for no apparent reason, and I was so fed up at that time that I kept telling him to pull the trigger, then he took a U-turn he was standing on the opposite side of the road (a clear road if he wanted to shoot and run) and pulled out his gun again and I told him that he should already pull the trigger. Anyway he never did that and here I am, still alive.

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What I didn't understand is why no one around me tried to help, I was literally stuck in traffic near PC saddar Rawalpindi, and there were around 50 to 70 cars in that traffic and everyone was seeing all this and no one thought it was a good idea to interfere. I mean I don't really care but I still wonder why no one thought it was a good idea to interfere. I was 18 I think, and trust me I look younger than my age.

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