Katharina Buczek
This young woman is only 21-years-old, but two years ago, her mother abandoned her family – leaving her to take care of her seven younger siblings entirely alone.
Her siblings range in age from 3 to 11, and every single child has a different dad. On top of that, none of their fathers are in the picture or pay child support.
“So I’m the only adult in their lives. I work one full-time and two part-time jobs to support them. I’m constantly exhausted. I work over 80 hours a week,” she explained.
Yet, she somehow had the time to hit it off with one of her coworkers, and they eventually got engaged. From the very beginning, she told her fiancé all about her situation as well.
She detailed all of the sleepless nights she experienced, as well as how hard it was to juggle her siblings’ school and daycare schedules. Additionally, she talked about the time she spent cooking them meals, helping out with homework, and attempting to create a sense of stability after their mom walked out.
Plus, she was upfront about how she never wanted her siblings to end up in foster care. She’d already experienced that herself when she was younger, and she ultimately endured some horrific abuse.
“I can’t risk that happening to them, so I’ve done everything in my power to keep us together as a family,” she said.
When she and her fiancé first started going out, he was understanding of everything, too. In fact, she even thought that he was quite supportive.
However, once they officially got engaged just last year, his perspective seemed to change. Her fiancé suddenly wanted them to focus on “their future” and to move in together – which she just couldn’t do.
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