"Spring Cleaning"

Until I was eight we lived in a big farm house in the outskirts of Kimberly, Wisconsin. The farm was owned by Mr. Vanhandle who tended dairy cows and harvested the fields. There were eight of us children living in that old house, and six were boys. My Dad held three jobs, bartending after his the day as the high school guidance counselor and drivers ed instructor. My parents fought violently. Every weekend Mom was off with her boyfriend in Madison. We kids played games, raced barefoot, destroyed things and tortured each another (literally). Our house was a nightmare of jumbled chaos, debris, and filth.

One summer morning I woke to the sound of the house filled with commotion. When I went downstairs I saw my parents, our neighbors, and my Aunt, all cleaning and packing. This was very confusing because in my short life I had never seen anyone clean like this. There were even people cleaning the scary basement, a place no one ever dared enter.

I recall that my sister was crying and my brothers were seriously moping about. When the eighteen wheeled moving van heaved it’s way up our long driveway I asked my Mom why the big truck was at our house. She told me we were going on an adventure-we were moving to Madison where my brother Tom lived. “It will be great,” she said, “we’ll get to live in the City and see the Capital.” With all my siblings crying and pouting, her story didn't add up, but I chose to believe her. A big truck full of our belongings, a move to the big city and into a new apartment, it was thrilling. Around midnight we all piled into my mom's Pontiac LeMans. When I saw my parents kiss goodbye I realized my dad was not coming with us. My heart sunk. I knew then my parents were divorcing.