My Story
by
Amy
Goldthorn
Before I begin I just want to say
‘thank you’ to a special lady Sarita who is an inspiration to me and all who
meet her. I will never forget you as long as I live. God Bless you Sarita.
I have been deaf from birth. I have no brothers or sisters and my parents homeschool me.
Well to begin, I guess I should tell you a little about myself, I am
Amy Goldthorn, 10 years old and deaf from my birth. In my story, you have to understand my
relationship with my dad. He is not just a regular dad he is a best friend. A
kind of person that you can tell anything and not get embarrassed.
When I was little, dad carried me
everywhere with him, he doctored my scrapes, comforted me when I was sick, and
told me I was his baby girl every day. We would go to the park and he would push
me on the swings for hours, and he would teach me how to talk with my hands. I
went to school for this, but so did he. and he was better at it than me at that
time.
One day he had to go out of town
and was gone for 3 days. This was the longest I had ever been away from him, and
I did not deal well with it. Haha when I clam up I do a good job at it. Anyway.
when he returned Momma talked to him about me not talking for the last 2 days so
daddy took me to our special place at the park and told me that he would not
ever leave me because he loved me to much. He promised me that he would never
leave me any longer than that and that it was hard for him too. Never the less
he was back. so I was happy.
Several years past and our bond grew even stronger than it ever had been before.
We were now riding horses, camping, shopping to make things short, we just did
everything together. Mom was here and she did a lot with us, but mostly it was
just him and I.
Then it happened, Dad started to
be out late every day, and often came home after I was asleep. He was going to
school at night and working in the day. We slowly seemed to be drifting apart
from one another in the few months, and he was going to truck driving school.
When he did come home he was tired and I would seem to get on his nerves a lot.
He even spanked me one time, and he never spanked me before but I deserved it!
That’s another story though, and I’m not telling it to you. Mom started taking
me to do the things we had done together like the shopping and stuff. Until the
day that dad had to let his other job go and start driving the truck. Why he
changed jobs is a long story too, but I wont get into that, because I don’t
understand about all that much.
It finally was the day that he was leaving to go over the road, but up to this
point no one really told me what to expect. Daddy left and was gone for 3 months
despite his promise to me. He did call from time to time but it was usually late
when I was asleep so I didn’t get to talk to him much. We have a TTY phone if
your wondering how I can talk on the phone. Anyway. I don’t know why I acted the
way I did, but I stopped talking all together. even to mom, because I was so
hurt that he left like that, after he promised he would never. I went several
months to where it was just so easy to just not talk at all, in fact, I kinda
felt like I forgot how. Even when dad would come home, I did not talk to him. I
would spend time with him, what time we had like a day or 2, but I would never
talk. and he would get upset with me. and so I got even more upset. Never upset
a deaf girl hahaha! Momma finally took me to a counselor who knew sign language.
She tried for some time to get me to talk. until she gave up and just would talk
to me.
Anyway, after time I started to kinda like my counselor cause she did not ask me
to talk anymore , but I started to a little but oh that was a mistake, she
expected it all the time then. It was hard at first and at one point I really
wanted to talk. but just could not get myself to do it but finally started to.
When I did start talking to her she would put words in my mouth and tell me I
was feeling one way when I was not. and I was getting very upset about this. 2
years we went back and forth back and forth. Until one day something special
happened. Mom decided to let me chat in the christian chat room, where I met
Sarita.
Sarita seemed to understand me and
how I felt, and it was so easy to talk to her, because I could not see her and
we could type to each other like we were using our mouths to talk. I started
talking to her a lot and she told me many stories and never made me talk when I
didn’t want to about something. She talked to me about God a lot and how he
understands what I need. But at that time I didn’t tell her, but I had been
praying for a longtime for dad to come home and stay home. because I just knew
he left cause of me and liked his work more than he did me. I even at one point
decided God was not listening to me. and I was getting mad at him to.
Sarita changed all that and we
prayed together, and she talked to my mom a lot about stuff. Yes, Sarita, I’m
gonna tell about me sneaking out of bed hahaha. Sarita likes to tell that story
for some reason. Sarita helped me when I got in trouble at gymnastics cause I
pushed a girl. and when I tried to hit my mom. I won't try to hit mom ever again
I can promise you that! Anyway, Sarita helped me to understand things and even
helped my mom too. I don’t know what all they talked about. but Sarita saved
some of our conversations and sent them to my mom..
Ok, Im gonna shorten this now cause my fingers are starting to hurt.. Mom read
the stuff Sarita sent to her to my dad and he said he was coming home, and he
did. It took him 2 days but he came, and he held me for a longtime, and he told
me he was sorry and that he loved me and he held me again and again and I
started to talk to him and we talked and we talked, and I told him how I felt,
and he said he did not know that was why I was having all the problems. He said
he knew that was some of it, but did not realize just how much. And again he
said he was sorry, and I did to. He even cried, and I never had seen him do
that before. He was gonna quit. but after a few days mom and him decided not to
quit yet but to take me with him and do my school on the truck and we did. It
was the best time of my life, cause it was just me and him.
I don’t see the counselor anymore, and I talk a
lot again. I don’t have accidents at night near like I did, and I think I’m
almost over that for good almost.
Well that is the short version of my story but it should be enough for who ever
reads it to no that there is a moral!!!! God does answer prayers, but he does
them in his own time, when he knows it to be best, and he knows what you need
all the time, and always where you are. God answered my prayers through Sarita,
who is my best friend now in the chat room. I hope I get to meet her and stay
the summer with her sometime.
The end.
Life in an 18 wheeler with my Dad
Wow, where do I begin? Well let me describe the inside of the truck. Its not very big but has bunk beds, the law says you cannot sleep on the top bunk while the truck is moving which is not a problem for me because I wont sleep up there anyways! It’s a big drop to the floor if you rolled over in your sleep. There is no rails to stop you. I like sleeping with my dad anyways. The bottom bunk is much bigger and sleeps 2 very nicely.
There are shelves on the right and left for clothes and stuff haha I have more than my dad does J There is a TV and a refrigerator and that’s about it. Then you take 1 step and you have the drivers seat and passenger seat next to you.
When I wake up we are usually at a truck stop and dad always buys me anything I want for breakfast, I think if I am not careful I am going to get fat from all the food I eat Ha.
Then we take showers at the truck stops. Dad always gets me my own shower room I Think he is trying to make me feel grown up or something but I don’t mind I like having my own. After I finish with my shower I have to wait for him to slide a piece of paper under the door that say’s “” you’re my umby umby pumpkin”” then I know it is ok to unlock the door and come out. Dad says there are bad people around those places so I have to stay in the shower room till he gets me.
Then we go back to the truck and off we go. We usually drive for about 4 hours before we stop for a small break, I am usually ready for one at that time J 15 minutes or so is all we stop for then we drive again for about the same up to 11 hours. He is only allowed to drive for 11 hrs in a day.
I usually climb in the back and make us sandwiches and I always take a byte out of his sandwich before I give it to him hahaha..
The rest of the time I usually just read a book or lay in the back and watch Veggie Tales. Our TV has caption on it so I can see what they are saying J.
Then at the end of the day my dad teaches me school for 2 hours L and then we go to bed.
My dad is the greatest, he always rubs my back until I fall asleep. That’s really about all there is to it but we have fun J because we have each other and he loves me..
Oh, I almost forgot the most important thing. In the morning when we get up we sit and say our prayers in sign language together, that is a very special time for me for 2 reasons, 1 because we are talking to Jesus and that is always special to me and 2 because my dad always says “” And most of all Jesus, thank you for your greatest gift of all to me, my little Amy”” That makes me cry sometimes…
Amy Goldthorn