I am a product of divorce. My parents divorced when I was thirteen years old. My father was an alcoholic and very abusive in every sense of the word. I remember once while still married to my mom, he brought home a woman that was carrying a gun, I remember thinking; this is messed up! I have so many unfortunate things in my memory that I never wanted my children to see anything like that. It was a relief to me when my when my parents divorced because of all the fighting that would go on. I never really understood why my mom waited thirteen years of my life to divorce my dad. Divorce is hard on everybody, especially the kids. My brothers are younger than I am so they didn’t understand what was happening. I remember going into a Judge’s Chambers and him asking me what it was like at my house. I told him everything; he decided it was in mine and my brothers’ best interest to live with my mom. Today I’m not sure if kids have a chance to talk to the Judge.
There is so much divorce; I’ve read that there is a fifty percent change of people today staying married. There are so many people living together, having children and never marrying, maybe because they grew up in a family like mine. Maybe there is a fear factor that no one has looked at as to why so many people divorce or never get married. There is a video Divorce School for Kids. (9 minutes) (ABC News, 20/20, Divorce school for kids) that everyone should watch. It might make people think twice about how or why they divorce and the effect it has on children.
I am who I am today because of my parents’ divorce. I vowed never to get involved with anyone that drinks or is abusive in anyway. I have been married three times, widowed twice; all of my husband’s have been good God fearing men that have treated me like a queen. I don’t know how I got so lucky, maybe instead of looking for Mr. Right, I found three Mr. Right for Me. I wanted to break the pattern that my parents had made; I knew life could/would be better. If you are reading this and thinking about a divorce; please think long and hard, unless the person is abusive; then get out as soon as possible; is there a way to save this marriage?
