Growing up with divorced parents

[Jazzy1]

What was it like growing up with divorced parents? How did the experience shape you?

 

[Aunt Bea]

When my parents got divorced it was much less stressful and chaotic.

We traded one type of stress for another when our Mother was single. The stress that comes with financial insecurity.

When our Mother remarried we were more a group of roommates than a family. We all had our chores, jobs, social life, etc…

It taught me to be independent and financially self sufficient.

It may sound a bit cold or grim but there were many good times and my life wasn’t really any different than the lives of millions of children.

 

[Della]

Thank you so much for that, Aunt Bea.

As one of the parents who got divorced, I've felt a life time of guilt over causing my son pain. It's a first for me to hear someone say their parents divorced and it wasn't the absolute worst thing in the world.

 

[rgp]

Well I'm from divorced parents , and it was not pleasant . My mother got custody , but I really don't think my dad wanted me anyway. Somehow he never paid a dime of child support to her, so money was scarce. In total those two [parents] were married nine times. Three for my dad, mom was number two. And six for my mom to five men. She married one guy twice ?? My dad was number two, then three more . One was a real A-hole and beat her. She drove another nuts, and her last hubby just used up good air.

I used to wonder what a normal family & normal childhood was like. I never knew.

 

[Pappy]

I was too young to know what the divorce was all about. I know Dad went to WW2 and when he was back home, they divorced. I was one of the lucky ones because I lived with mom and grandparents and dad was very much involved in my life. Mom remarried and my step-dad was a good guy too. Dad remarried and lived in Utica, NY.

 

[bobcat]

Going through it was unpleasant for sure, and when I was young, it taught me some life lessons, and survival mechanisms. As I got older, I was more able to do a mental autopsy on what went wrong, and how not to make the mistakes they did. I just make my own now.