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Post by aln1982 on Jan 9, 2008 10:49:53 GMT -5
^ Agree. I remember just how devestated (and terrified) I was when I heard that my dad had to have open heart surgery because I knew all the life changes this would cause. Can't imagine losing him.... I think Abby handled the situation well considering but sometimes wonder if she was really using the comedy routine to cover up her deeper feelings. After all, the Stevensons do not seem like a very expressive family in terms of communication....
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lark
New To Stoneybrook
Posts: 104
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Post by lark on Jan 9, 2008 12:25:14 GMT -5
When it came to death, Abby definitely had it the worst. It was so sudden, no chance to say good-bye, nothing. At least with Claudia and Mimi, Mimi was old and had been sick for sometime and clearly getting worse. Mary Anne was a baby and doesn't remember her mother at all, and Sunny did have months to prepare herself and say good-bye to her mother. Not that it's ever really "easy" to loose someone, but losing someone so suddenly is the worst.
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Post by aln1982 on Jan 9, 2008 17:10:56 GMT -5
^ Agree. I also thought as I was posting in another thread that Stacey (who I think had it almost as bad as Abby but not quite only because she didn't lose a parent to death) and Abby often seem to be in the most danger in the Super Mysteries. I might be wrong on this but it's how it seems. I know we always say "poor Mal" in the books and she does seem to get the short end of the stick but Stacey and Abby do, too. The books just don't focus on it as much, I guess.
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Post by booboobrewer on Jan 9, 2008 19:47:12 GMT -5
It was so sudden, no chance to say good-bye, nothing. Yeah, when she goes to the Grand Canyon I feel terribly sad for her I know what it's like to have those memory "triggers," little things that remind you of the person you lost, and they come on so suddenly.
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Rie
Sitting For The Newtons
Posts: 1,998
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Post by Rie on Jan 11, 2008 0:49:45 GMT -5
I think Stacey,Abby and Mary Anne had the worst.
She has diabetes and I've re-read "Welcome Back,Stacey!",and I can't imagine myself in her place. She cried there,like,millions of times,and even though she cried and cried,she can never change anything. The moment when she said that she and her father hugged each other and cried and cried brought tears to my eyes.
About Abby,I think losing a father is very VERY painful. She laughed and joked with him,celebrated special occasions with him,done a lot of meaningful and happy moments with him,then all of a sudden,she was called by the office and told her that her father died. Just like that. Yeah,she jokes a lot,but every time she's joking,I think it hurts inside,since her father loves to joke. And that's why she loves to joke. I think she'll never ever stop missing her father. Never.
Mary Anne: Well,we all know that her mother died when she was a baby. She doesn't even remember anything about her. She didn't even had a chance to have some meaningful and happy moments with her mother then say good bye to her mother before she died. She haven't even experienced some motherly love. And I think Sharon doesn't even show any motherly love to her. Once in Mary Anne's book,when she was looking in her baby book and crying,her father and Sharon arrives,her father asked her why she was crying,then Sharon asked her if something bad happened to Dawn or Jeff in California. She didn't even ask Mary Anne is she's hurt or something. And her house burned down along with her famous cities skirt,which she wore the first time she went to a dance with Logan.
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Post by greer on Jan 11, 2008 22:26:14 GMT -5
but i thought that when ma was crying over her baby book, sharon was very supportive and wanted to look at the book with mary anne? i also don't think the famous cities skirt counts as a very tragic thing to lose in a fire. the aforementioned baby book is much more tragic to lose than a skirt. but then again i hate logan. and ma breaks up with logan after the fire anyway.
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Post by booboobrewer on Jan 11, 2008 22:49:11 GMT -5
Yeah, I think Sharon asked about Dawn and Jeff first, but she also sat down with her and told her she was sorry she (MA) was sad.
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Post by greer on Jan 11, 2008 23:07:33 GMT -5
i also think sharon was in a lot of pain herself, having both of her biological children choosing to live with their dad. i think this emotional stress needs to be considered in regard to sharon's actions as well.
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Post by aln1982 on Jan 12, 2008 1:26:06 GMT -5
Agree with you both. Actually just read MA's Book yesterday and was going to comment on how supportive Sharon is in that scene and always. I think she's one of the best step-moms MA could hope for. Also agree that losing stuff from her mom would be the worst. As for MA having it bad, yes because of her mom dying but the house doesn't seem worse to me. It is bad but houses can be rebuilt. Death and chronic illness can't be undone.....
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Post by greer on Jan 12, 2008 1:36:34 GMT -5
^i agree aln. stuff is just stuff. plus verna brought over some of alma's things after the fire so ma and richard could replace what they lost.
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Post by secondhandshoes on Jan 12, 2008 4:45:24 GMT -5
I'm going to ramble here...so bear with me. I say Abby. I can't imagine losing a parent, let alone losing a parent so suddenly and at such a young age. Not to mention that after her dad died, her mom basically disappeared and threw herself into her work leaving Abby and Anna to basically fend for themselves while she wasn't at home. That's lousy for someone so young, and even by the time they were 13, that seems incredibly young to be basically on your own. Plus, I have allergies and asthma--not nearly as bad as Abby seems to and they STINK. Seriously, there are days when my allergies are so bad I feel like my head is going to fall off haha. I felt for Abby, definitely And then her sister had Scoliosis and her grandmother had breast cancer, and her aunt left a baby on their doorstep...that family just had a lot of problems. MA had it pretty badly too. Losing her mother, her father having to raise her alone, her house burning down, always being in the shadow of Kristy Thomas...blech. The rest....well, I don't think their problems were as bad as MA and Abby's. Dawn could have easily solved her problems if she'd stopped being a little snot towards Carol and stayed on one side of the country for more than a month. Claudia probably had it the easiest, I don't think she was dumb at all--just a little lazy. Maybe dyslexic, I wish they would have made her dyslexic. haha, then I could feel sorry for her. Jessi...well I'm black and live in a town full of white people, and I'm over the racism thing. Mallory...you're the oldest. And that sucks. But just think, you're the first one out. Stacey handled her diabetes really well. She got to travel to NYC practically every weekend, and while its lousy to have divorced parents I imagine, a lot of people do it and they don't get to do it between the perfect little town in CT and NYC. And aside from her dad leaving, I don't feel the least bit sorry for Kristin Amanda "My step dad is a millionaire" Thomas.
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Penny Lane
Sitting For The Arnolds
The Girl With Colitis Goes By
Posts: 2,888
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Post by Penny Lane on Jan 12, 2008 16:28:52 GMT -5
I don't like to compare people's problems. It just seems like a such a cruel thing to do. (Yes, I am aware these aren't real people). I think that they all had problems, and they all handled them differently. What's devastating to one person won't necessarily be as horrible to another. It's just the way people are.
None of them had it that bad - they all were raised responsibly, none of them suffered abuse or neglect, none of them were disabled or burdened with a life threatening illness. None of them had family members who suffered from any type of disability or critical illnesses. It might have actually been interesting to explore what would have happened if Abby's dad hadn't died, but instead needed intensive care for the rest of his life. That's the kind of thing that really wears at people, IMO. Yes, losing a parent is terrible -- but I would say it's worse when you lose them mentally but not physically.
The sitters also were all living in a comfortable world of upper middle class. I can't say they didn't have problems, but I don't really think any of them were that bad off.
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Post by greer on Jan 12, 2008 17:05:50 GMT -5
I agree. Yes, diabetes is bad and so is losing a parent at a young age--but stacey had access to the best medical care possible and abby still had a stable, loving home environment.
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Post by aln1982 on Jan 12, 2008 18:01:17 GMT -5
Even with the best possible care, Drs. are not gods and diabetes can be life threatening (as I said before but maybe in another thread). It can also lead to disability - my aunt with Type I like Stacey's - had to go on permenant disability because she is legally blind and can't even drive. So, Stacey might not be "disabled" now (and I actually consider diabetes a disability just like many other chronic illnesses) but may be in the future. But I think the books downplay it too much and I know people can't fully understand what it is like to live like an illness like this (I know I don't have diabetes so can't totally understand it) and to deal with it every day. I'm not going to argue about this and sorry about ranting but it's a really sensitive issue for me as I have seen how much my aunt and diabetic kids I've worked with have suffered. I think I'll just stop reading this thread. ;D I agree it isn't right to compare problems and the girls all did have good in their lives to mitigate the bad.
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Post by greer on Jan 12, 2008 18:26:41 GMT -5
i understand that diabetes is very serious--i just meant that stacey would be in a better situation than someone who didn't have money or access to some of the best doctors and specialists in the world.
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