“Showing them off.”
Smiling for the camera. We look happy.
We were not.
He made the money. He controlled the money. We were dependent upon him.
That was by design.
Each birthday and Christmas, that was the gift: money. Hundred-dollar bills.
And then, the “special occasions or needs,” the grocery and the shopping trips. All requiring we go to him, asking… or begging… for money.
If he was more benevolent that day, it was just the humiliation of having to ask him for money.
If he was NOT benevolent, then, it was rage. Getting screamed at, told we didn’t need to waste money on “that thing,” and not getting any funds.
Instead, we received a three-to-four-day stretch of his rage/silent treatment/chaos/abuse.
What They Taught; What We Learned…
He, again, taught us that he ruled with fear, cruelty, oppressive rules, and chaos.
Money was dangerous, as it only came through him.
He determined that we were at his mercy. He determined that he decided we were unworthy of money. He determined that only he could execute whatever he decided to do with it.
He was in control. We were not…