Parental Compensation

[Wenzdayz]

We didnt get pocket money. you were expected to do chores. the only time we got any money was normally for your birthday or christmas and the rest of the time if you needed money for something at school you were given money.

[Avantar]

[MENTION=297]FarligOpptreden[/MENTION] - It is really sad and I am sorry to hear about your sister. I know hardship and can relate. But kudos to you for pulling through.

[FarligOpptreden]

[MENTION=297]FarligOpptreden[/MENTION] - It is really sad and I am sorry to hear about your sister. I know hardship and can relate. But kudos to you for pulling through.

All in the past mate - it was more than 10 years ago. What made it hard back then was that I was the only one at her deathbed (parents were out of country for work). My mother still beats herself up over it and my father isn't someone to show much emotion. I guess being in the thick of it helped me work through it quicker. Besides, it was expected to happen sometime or another and we were (slightly) prepared for it.

[bradbear117]

I had an odd childhood. My sister was diagnosed with a terminal disease when she was born and her life expectancy wasn't more than 14 years. She passed away just before she turned 25. She was 2 years my senior. On account of this, my parents spent most of my childhood in the hospital with my sister, as she often spent months on end there. I was kinda left to my own devices at home from a very young age. I had to grow a sense of responsibility in doing homework, learning for tests and exams and helping out with the odd chore after school. On weekends my dad tried to stay home as much as possible to still get some time spent with me, whilst my mom was mostly at the hospital again. I received a fixed allowance for this, but nothing extravagant. Barely enough to buy anything worthwhile with. Toys and gadgets had to wait for the obligatory combined birthday + xmas gift, as I was born in December.

My parents suffered a huge financial loss just before I finished school, so I was forced to work part-time to help pay the bills. I kept this up for 3 years, during the first 2 years of my studies at university as well. Most of the money I earned went back into the household. I had one year "off" from work before I started 2 jobs during my final year of studies - assistant lecturer for the Informatics department and part-time job at company I would end up spending 9.5 years at. I never skimped on my studies though... Academic prowess has always been my top priority and I was always within the top 2 academics at school and varsity.

Dude.........that sounds super rough and heavy. You are a machine my friend, and your parents are rock solid. 25 years in and out of hospital and worrying about your child. Cant imagine the stress that must have been.

You and your family have my utmost respect.

[FarligOpptreden]

Dude.........that sounds super rough and heavy. You are a machine my friend, and your parents are rock solid. 25 years in and out of hospital and worrying about your child. Cant imagine the stress that must have been.

You and your family have my utmost respect.

Thanks man, appreciate the kind words! I guess it sounds worse than it actually was for me, because it was part of my life growing up. Like my mom used to say, the good Lord never gave her anything she couldn't cope with. Everyone should take whatever comes across their path in their stride and see what lessons they can learn from it. Personally, the past 2 years have been the roughest in my life, with the loss of my father-in-law, dog being brutally killed, being screwed by previous employer and forced to start new company, potential lawsuits from both sides because of major disputes, taking salary sacrifices and incurring huge debt because of it, being emotionally broken down by people who are intimidated by my skills and the constant struggle to find new contracts to pay the company salaries and bills. My childhood pales in comparison to those struggles.

But I think we've derailed this thread for too long with my sob stories. Point being, I got a small allowance each month partly out of pity and partly because of chores I did at home.