August, 1967 Kids...Mom Didn't Come Home Last Night

For some reason, the vision that sticks in my head is of my baby brother eating from a bag of chips. I was 9 at the time and he was just 1-1/2. We were never allowed to eat chips, I couldn't tell you where they even came from. Our Mom was a Leave It To Beaver Mom, meals were healthy, she was waiting at the door when we came home from school, we were dressed and coifed to the 9's before we left for school, our house was immaculate at all times. But on that summer day, as I was preparing for the 4th grade, probably calling my 4 year old sister a baby, babying my brother and defying my 12 year old sister, everything was in disarray. Our clothes hadn't been laid at the foot of our beds, breakfast wasn't ready and waiting, our hair hadn't been brushed and styled. Then there was the look on my Dad's face...defeat, confusion and most of all heartbreak. I didn't know then what infidelity was, I didn't know our Mom wouldn't be walking through the door ever again, I didn't know how this all would effect me for the rest of my days.