When I was young, everything seemed happy. The sky was a bright blue, the clouds like cotton candy, and the sun had the biggest smile ever. I remember when I used to draw myself holding hands with my family. I was in the middle, of course. Then to my left was my sister, Avery. Next to her was my dad, and to my right was my mom. There was only grass below our feet, and sky above our heads. One singular cloud in the left corner, and in the right, was a little sun with a smiley face. My family was a good one, or so I thought. I was only three years old, but I could tell mommy and daddy weren’t very happy together. One day, mommy sat me and Avery down on the couch. Daddy got two chairs, one for him, one for mommy. Avery was seven years old, so she could understand most of it, but me and my half-chewed Ariel Barbie doll didn’t understand one moment of it. “Mommy and I are getting a divorce.” daddy said, in a very serious tone. “Jason, they don’t know what that means.” mommy replied. They explained to us that it means mommy and daddy aren’t going to live together anymore, and that we would have to switch between different houses. I saw Avery start to cry, so I knew it wasn’t a happy surprise like getting a new puppy. Daddy moved to an apartment, and he had a new girlfriend. Her name was Tina, and she had a son named Leland. Mommy stayed in the same house for a little while, but then moved to an apartment, just like daddy. She also had a new boyfriend, and his name was Chris. He had a son named Graidon, and we were about the same age. I liked having someone my age to play with, and even better, I could see him all the time. Both mommy and daddy’s apartments only had two bedrooms, so I had to share with all of my siblings. Most of the time, I was unaware of the whole situation. After a while, daddy moved again. It was a tan colored duplex, and we had a neighbor that loved to cook smelly brussel sprouts. Everyday when I came home from school, I could always smell them. Mommy always stayed in the same house, I could tell she doesn’t like change. In 2017, Tina told us that she had a baby in her tummy. Although I liked the idea of being a big sister, I didn’t like that all of the attention would go to the new youngest. Me and Avery told mom that Tina had a new baby. She looked happy for us but I could tell she didn’t like it. When the baby was born, my mom drove me and Avery to the hospital. Tina was crying tears of joy, and so was dad. “Is it a boy baby or a girl baby?” I asked, hoping for it to be a little sister. She unwraps the soft blanket covering up the newborn’s body. “It’s a boy!” my siblings cry out. Although I was quite disappointed that my little sibling was a boy, I wanted to know his name. “His name is Arlen. The ‘A’ is for Avery, the ‘l’ for Leland, and the ‘e’ for Evan.” I was happy that my name was a part of his. He was so precious. When Arlen got old enough to walk, we moved to Athens, Ohio. It was only an hour and a half away from our old house, but having to drive every weekend made my head hurt. We had an A-frame house. One thing I loved about it was that I never had to set an alarm to wake up, the blue jays would always sing their song at 8 A.M. Mom was talking about moving to a new house. It would be closer to my new middle school, but that was still a year and a half away. Dad moved again. It was far up high on a mountain, it made me feel sick whenever we went up and down. I knew not to get attached to this house like I did the last one, because we always moved every two years. I changed up my hair, but I regret it now. On my 10th birthday, my dad kept saying, “double digits, eh?” I was. I was finally in double digits. We finally moved to that new house at mom’s. I had my own room, and it was just how I wanted it. The next couple years of middle school were the same. Except, dad moved again. It was a really nice house, it was modern, and it was close to uptown so me and Leland could go on late night walks. There was a lot of drama at school. It made me feel bad about myself. I started changing my style, wearing baggy clothes, pajamas and slippers to school. My dad told me that he was moving again. But it wasn’t just a new house, not just a new city, but a new state. Across the country. I didn’t know what to say. I needed him to know that I cared, and I would really miss him, but I couldn’t. He thought that I didn’t care that he was moving but I really did. Seeing my dad cry made me feel like it was my fault. I went to see him over summer break, it was cool. His new area is funky, and chill. Chris had moved out of mom’s house for a little, they were okay, I didn’t know why he left. But he came back and now he and Graidon are living with us. I don’t really talk to Leland anymore, but he is still my best friend. Arlen had his very first hair cut after 6 years. Dad is still gone, and I really miss him. I want to be young again.