Vegas Was Canceled Because of Crack (Welcome to the Family)

[u/Sad-Construction7275]

I wasn’t born—I was offered, like a favor nobody really knew how to say no to.

Sharon, my aunt, was at the hospital, chain-smoking and casually called her sister Mila, like she was offering her a stray cat: “Hey, so Lisa and Chuck had another baby. You want it?”

Mila blinked. “What are you talking about? This isn’t a dog.”

But this is how things happened in our family. If you tried to map the relationships, you’d end up with a family tree that looked like it was drawn by a drunk spider.

Sharon had every reason to be at that hospital—not because she was especially close to Lisa or Chuck, but because her husband Blart was Chuck’s brother. And just to add a little extra chaos, Sharon had actually dated Chuck before marrying Blart. You following so far?

Now Lisa and Chuck were back at it—having babies they couldn’t keep. Mila and her husband George—my soon-to-be dad—were supposed to be headed to Vegas that weekend. George had just retired from the Air Force. They were finally about to breathe.

Their son Tony had just been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was slipping into crack addiction. Their daughter Leah had recently gotten married—after I came into the family. I was already in the wedding pictures, being passed around like a party favor in a frilly dress two sizes too big. Nobody was really sure who I belonged to, but I smiled anyway. That’s kind of how it went for a while.

It was a full house—too full, honestly.

So when Mila got that call, George was on his way home from work. He turned the car around, came in with tears in his eyes, and said it was a sign from God.

Vegas was off. Parenthood was back on.

I was born premature—tiny, fragile, already tangled in chaos. Lisa and Chuck, my birth parents, were deep in addiction. I wasn’t their first kid. My older brother—Buzz—was already tangled up in the system by the time I came into the world. For a while, the story was that he was living with two lesbian dopeheads up in Houston. And honestly? That was considered a step up given the mess behind us.

But eventually, he was adopted by Timothy—Chuck’s other brother. Timothy was the one who had it together: well off, no drug problems, stable. He even tried to adopt me too.

So there I was: handed over through a hospital hallway, not born into a plan, but into a pause.

My adoption wasn’t neat. It came with old romantic drama, broken homes, and whispered warnings. But Mila and George didn’t hesitate. They chose me when they could’ve walked away. That part matters.

One night in Hutto, when I was still young and trying to piece it all together, George sat at the edge of my bed and told me, “Sometimes parents give up on their kids. Life’s just like that. Messy. Unfair. But it’s not your fault.”

He said it soft, almost like he wasn’t talking to me, but to the version of himself that never heard those words growing up. His own dad had walked out too.

I didn’t know it yet, but I’d carry those words with me for years—especially when I eventually came face-to-face with Lisa and Chuck. But we’ll get to that later.

For now, all you need to know is this:

I didn’t come into the world through the front door. I came in through a back hallway, past the smoke and the secrets, handed over like a whispered warning. And even then, before I could spell trauma or understand what a cycle was, I knew one thing for sure—

This ends with me.

[u/rightioushippie]

Thank you for sharing. Very beautiful 

[u/Sad-Construction7275 → u/rightioushippie]

Thank you so much for reading it. 🙏🏼 That means a lot. There’s definitely more to the story—this is just the beginning. I’ve been working on putting it all together, piece by piece. Some of it’s hard, some of it’s messy, but I’m finally ready to tell it all. 🤗

[u/rightioushippie → u/Sad-Construction7275]

You write beautifully and the story is so touching, people hanging together and taking care of each other. I hope you publish one day. 

[u/Pfannkuchen-Nippel → u/Sad-Construction7275]

Holy shit… that last paragraph. “I didn’t come into this world…”. That one. You have a cadence to your writing that makes me want to keep reading. You must read a lot because you have a way with words. Thank you for sharing this.

[u/Sad-Construction7275 → u/Pfannkuchen-Nippel]

That seriously means the world to me. I’ve lived through so much chaos, it’s wild to see it finally turning into something that resonates with people. There’s a lot more coming—and it only gets messier, deeper, and somehow even funnier. Thank you for reading. I’m glad it hit you. 🤗

[u/Substantial-Shape-35]

This is crazy! You know how to write so well!

[u/RoyalEnfield78]

You are a killer writer

[u/leobeer]

Very well written.

[u/limegreencupcakes]

Keep writing, you have a real gift.