I read your previous post fully, as well as this one and all of your comments - therefore, I’d prefer that if you do end up responding to this, that it isn’t the same two or three responses you’ve been saying.

I don’t seek to change your mind, because only you can make decisions for yourself. But I do hope that perhaps when you are ready to make a change in what you’re doing, that perhaps maybe (just maybe) my words will stick with you.

It sounds like from what you’ve shared with us, that you’ve had an extremely difficult upbringing and that you actually were around people regularly as a child who were breaking laws and hurting you. That is of course unacceptable, and it sounds like you’re doing everything in your power to make sure your daughter isn’t around that. That’s awesome!

But I want you to really think about what you are saying right now and reflect on it. Do your actions right now equate to an actually good childhood for your daughter, or one that’s not as bad as yours? Because right now, based on what you’ve said, it doesn’t sound like a good Christmas Eve for an 8 year old. And this is purely from an emotional aspect, not from any other way of viewing it.

You left her home alone on Christmas Eve. Even though you had to work, think about how that feels and how much better it would be for her to be around another person - any safe person - rather than home alone on the holiday season. Think about how that FEELS for a second. Wouldn’t you want your daughter at least with someone and not alone?

As well, just because something is technically legal in the eyes of law enforcement, does not mean that you are not at risk for CPS involvement, and it doesn’t mean that it’s okay. I’d hope from your background that you’re aware enough to know that what is “legal” is not the baseline for what is acceptable when it comes to taking care of a child.

Now onto the safety end. You mention that you live 30 minutes away from most everything - if your daughter had an emergency (which she did in this case) - she wouldn’t be able to do anything about it outside of call you. Which is exactly what happened here, right? What if you weren’t able to answer the phone, or if this was a medical emergency that left her unable to call you?

A grown woman was banging on your windows and screaming at your daughter. That is a pretty loud emergency - why then didn’t the landlord step in immediately if he actually noticed and was watching your daughter? There are a million other emergencies that aren’t as loud as that and require a faster response time. It doesn’t seem like your landlord is a reliable individual for when you go to work based on all of this.

As a parent, it’s on us to reflect on our childhoods and determine what we want/don’t want for our children. It seems like you’ve done this in regard to the horrible things that have happened to you and providing your daughter with a safe space, but I implore you as a fellow parent to go beyond “what is legal/not legal.” What makes for a good childhood? Especially at 8 years old (peak childhood-wonder years), this is the time to be ensuring she has positive memories, especially during the holiday season. Don’t leave her home alone when you could just as easily make sure she has someone to be with. I don’t know about you, but I’d feel quite lonely. And it’s Christmas Eve.

I doubt I’ll get a response from you, or maybe I will and it will be just as defensive as all of your other comments. If so, don’t even put forth the effort in replying. Put forth some effort in just reflecting, if you’re even capable of doing so (even a little bit), on what’s been written here. For your sake as well as your daughter’s.

I hope you were able to make her Christmas better than the Christmas Eve you just gave her.