lark
New To Stoneybrook
Posts: 104
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Post by lark on Jan 3, 2008 10:35:39 GMT -5
I've been thinking about this (because I have no life), but which of the main sitters do you think has had the most hardships in life? Who's has the easiest time?
Let's see:
Kristy: dad left the family when she was little leaving her mom to be a single mother caring for 4 kids. But then her mom married Watson the MILLIONAIRE and they moved to a mansion. Beloved dog dies. (but they get a new one.) Watson had a mild heart ache and has to change his lifestyle.
Claudia: Her beloved grandmother dies. Constantly feels stupid next to her sister and feels like an outcast in her family. Always struggling in school.
Mary Anne: Mother died when she was a baby resulting in her going to live with her grandparents. Father had to go through a custody battle to get her back. (She doesn't really remember any of this.) Her best friend/step-sister leaves her to move to California. Good friend dies in a car accident. Her house burns down.
Stacey: Has diabetes. Moved back and forth between Stoneybrook to NYC and back again. Parents got divorced and do not get along, constantly putting her in the middle. Has to go back and forth between NYC and Stoneybrook to be with both her parents. Lost her NYC BF who she had known for many years.
Dawn: Parents divorced and she had to move cross country. Then her brother moved back leaving her with just her mother. Missed her father, so she moved back. Still has to travel all the way across the country to see her mom. Had a tough time dealing with dad's girlfriend (then wife), Carol. Best friend's mother diagnosed with breast cancer and dies. Was like a second mother.
Abby: Father suddenly died when she was nine. Mother moved them to Stoneybrook and works all the time so she's rarely home. Grandmother diagnosed with breast cancer. Has horrible allergies and asthma.
Mallory: Oldest of 8 kids. Often gets lost in the shuffle and treated like a slave by her parents. Lots of teasing at school results in her going to boarding school.
Jessi: Had to move from NJ to Stoneybrook where her and her family had a hard time being accepted because they're black. Overbearing Aunt moved in with them (although they learned to get along.) Brother was in a car accident where he was somewhat seriously injured (although he recovered.)
I think I've gotten all the major "bad" things down, but feel free to add anything I may have missed!
I'm not sure who had it the worst...I think Mary Anne, Stacey and Abby all had it pretty bad.
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Post by aln1982 on Jan 3, 2008 10:58:25 GMT -5
I say Stacey. Agree the others - MA and Abby - had it bad, too, but having a chronic illness even without all of the parent problems has to be the worst.
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starrynight
Sitting For The Kuhns
The Royal Diner of Pizza Express
Posts: 4,004
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Post by starrynight on Jan 3, 2008 11:19:42 GMT -5
I say Dawn. She didn't seem as okay with all the traveling between parents as Stacey was, and there was a lot more conflict for her as to where she'd live. Stacey actually seemed to adjust fairly well, and it helped that her dad was just a train ride away.
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sarish
Sitting For The Papadakis's
Posts: 1,618
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Post by sarish on Jan 3, 2008 13:29:11 GMT -5
Who was Stacey's boyfriend that she knew for years?
As for who had it worse, I would have to say Abby. It seems like she really did not have any parent since her mother was hardly around and her father died. It is a little harder becuase she was so close to her father, than I think Mary Anne. She misses more not having her own special mother, than missing her mother. Plus, she is close to her father. Then her grandma gets breast cancer! oh geesh! Plus all of her allergies and ashtma.
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Post by booboobrewer on Jan 3, 2008 13:55:54 GMT -5
bf = best friend Mary Anne or Abby...losing your house to a fire must be horrible and Abby's dad's death really changed her life. It's so sad because she was really close to him.
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sarish
Sitting For The Papadakis's
Posts: 1,618
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Post by sarish on Jan 3, 2008 14:08:54 GMT -5
Oh thank you booboobrewer! I don't know what I was thinking but it all makes sense now.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2008 14:50:38 GMT -5
I also think Abby. Mary Anne has also lost a parent, but as lark says, she doesn't really remember her mom, so I think it was harder for Abby. I really felt for Abby when I read about her father's death, it was so sad. He seemed like a nice man and a great father. And then her mom isn't really around much and grandma gets breast cancer. And asthma and allergies aren't the nicest thing in the world. But I really apprectiate that even if Abby's life hasn't been so easy, she seems to be so happy and bubbly most of the time MA comes as second - when she lost her house, she lost most of many things that meant so much (happy memories, ect...) for her. That must be very terrible. Dawn's life hasn't been easy either.
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Post by greer on Jan 3, 2008 14:58:38 GMT -5
I guess Abby, but to be honest i don't think any of them had it THAT bad. They all were at least very comfortably middle class or higher. They could be reasonably secure in their futures. Yes, Stacey had a disease, but it was manageable. Despite divorce and death, their families were supportive and provided all what they needed. MA's house burned down, but her family pulled through it. I dunno. They all had nice lives.
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Post by aln1982 on Jan 3, 2008 16:29:09 GMT -5
I had forgotten about Abby's allergies and asthma. I might say she's at least tied with Stacey. Yes, the diseases are managable but only to some degree and are awful to deal with, I'm sure. Agree they all could have it worse and there are plenty of people who do. I guess, though, no one can really know what someone else goes through until they live "in their shoes" so to speak. ;D
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Post by greer on Jan 7, 2008 19:17:47 GMT -5
Ehh, i think ma should have been less of a baby about moving
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mckay
Junior Sitter
Posts: 672
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Post by mckay on Jan 7, 2008 20:25:59 GMT -5
I'm gonna go with Abby - I would think that losing a parent so young would be incredibly difficult. I wouldn't have been able to handle it.
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alula
Sitter-In-Training
Posts: 406
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Post by alula on Jan 8, 2008 3:58:45 GMT -5
Hmm--I'm also going to go with Abby: chronic illness, death of her beloved father, disconnected family that hasn't really worked though their grief. Plus, she also had to watch Anna dealing with her scoliosis. Followed by Mary Anne and Stacey, I guess. (I would add to MA's "list" that IMO she has a propensity for depression/anxiety issues, (enough to require professional help), and that IMO, Dawn's moving back and forth was hard on her not just because she missed Dawn, but that it probably put a lot of pressure on MA to comfort Sharon and sort of live up to being the only daughter at home).
I think Claudia had it the easiest, actually, although by the 20s or so Kristy was developing good relationships with Watson and the kids. And admittedly, I don't relate to Claudia about school, although I can relate to some of her issues like But my thing about Claudia is that I think the narrative voice is totally unfair to the Kishis, who just don't think her art is important and who (gasp!) dress boringly. Whereas to me, the Kishis seem both generous and pretty lax. They let Claudia wear whatever she wants and keep her room a huge mess. They pay for classes she takes and even supplied her with a darkroom for a hobby that lasted all of a month. They don't want her to eat junk food all day, but it's not like they never have celebratory cakes. (The Nancy Drew thing is so dumb, I can't even.) They never really ground her or force her to drop out of the BSC or clean the distractions out of her room. (Personally, I think they probably should have been stricter, because I don't think Claudia really took her grades seriously until she got demoted, because of a sudden, there was a real reason to buckle down, I also think Janine gets a bad rap from the narration--most of the time she's around, she seems to say nice, supportive things to Claudia a lot.
This may sound callous, but I really think there's a difference between a grandparent dying and your own parent dying before you grow up. Both are sad, but to me, the first is part of the ordinary sadness of life, whereas losing a parent when you are still a child is truly tragic.
(I'm both really sleepy and insomniac, so I hope this made sense!)
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Post by liss31d on Jan 8, 2008 8:04:06 GMT -5
I would say Abby and Mary Anne had it the worst. I wish Abby had been more of a likable interesting character with more prominent traits instead of a Kristy clone, as the things that happen to her are tough and moving - her Dad's death, her sister's illness, her Mum's absence at home, her allergies, etc... MA has a very hard time as well - house burning down, Dawn's fickleness about where she wants to live, her Mum's death (although she does not remember it, early in the series before Richard got remarried, MA found it difficult not having a mother figure), her depression, the death of a school friend, etc... I think Stacey and Dawn come close after them...
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Rie
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 1,998
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Post by Rie on Jan 8, 2008 8:30:28 GMT -5
I would say Abby and Mary Anne had it the worst. I wish Abby had been more of a likable interesting character with more prominent traits instead of a Kristy clone, as the things that happen to her are tough and moving - her Dad's death, her sister's illness, her Mum's absence at home, her allergies, etc... MA has a very hard time as well - house burning down, Dawn's fickleness about where she wants to live, her Mum's death (although she does not remember it, early in the series before Richard got remarried, MA found it difficult not having a mother figure), her depression, the death of a school friend, etc... I think Stacey and Dawn come close after them... I agree
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Post by greer on Jan 9, 2008 4:17:27 GMT -5
The other terrible thing about Abby's dad's death is that it was so sudden. Sunny, for instance, had months and months to prepare and got to say a proper good-bye. Abby went to school one day and was called into the office and given this terrible news.
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