How to Cope
by Olga Hyde

When suddenly something changes in our lives it is painful. If somebody dies, like a friend or family, it is very sad. I can feel grief; it is like an empty space. I feel that something is missing and then I think it is gone forever.

This topic is just right for me because I feel very sad. Last week our house was sold and the moving out day was on February the 24th. I call it "Friday the Thirteenth".

The people who bought our home had a problem with the sale of their own house, so they couldn't pay us. Our lawyer told us not to move out if we didn't have the money. He told us to wait.

At about 4 o'clock the lady came in with a very bad attitude, and I got intimidated by all of the people with her. We had to rush and just dump everything in our truck and leave. Well, I felt very sad in the beginning because I knew I didn't have a home anymore and besides that, I wasn't going to live like a family because I couldn't find a place to move to, since it was not the end of the month; I had to wait.

My daughter has gone to live with a family in Surrey, my little poodle dog "Angel" has gone to Vancouver with a friend. My husband has to sleep in a van to watch over some things, and myself, I'm living in Richmond with a friend, and my furniture and my plants are in storage. I felt very sad especially the day when I woke up alone in a strange bed.

Next day on Saturday, I noticed that I never put my oil paintings on the truck, and for me, they are very special. These people were so intimidating and we had to leave in such a rush that I forgot my paintings. I recovered only half of them because they were already hanging on the walls. I was really sad that I would have to lose them. The worst is that we haven't had the money for the house, and the buyers are happy while I am feeling grief because my family is all scattered in different places, and it is the only family I have in Canada. And I do not know how to cope with this problem; it makes me feel very sad. I never felt homeless before and I find it very painful.

Background Information

Have you ever been bullied? What did it feel like? Talk about things you can do to stand up for yourself. Also talk about bad luck; days that you've had that nothing seems to go right. How do you cope?

Questions

1. What happened to Olga?

2. When did she have to move out of her house?

3. Why didn't she stay until she got the money?

4. What does the word intimidate mean?

5. Why would she call moving day "Friday the Thirteenth"?

6. Where did her daughter, dog and husband go?

7. Why didn't they have a place to move?

8. Use the word especially in a sentence.

9. How many paintings did she get back?

10. What do you think Olga should have done to fix the situation?