Posted by Kathie on April 28, 2000, at 20:54:29
In reply to Re: Family Histories, posted by allisonm on April 27, 2000, at 21:14:24
allisonm,
Wow, crappy childhood, huh!! I think my childhood was a little better than yours. My parents are relatively normal, although my father was very controlling with my mother and after 16 years of marriage she left him. I was 15 at the time and the impact of their divorce was far more damaging than the discord in their marriage. I have one sister 9 years younger and 1 brother 4 years younger, my brother and I stayed with my dad and my little sister went with my mom. My life has been fairly hellish since my parents divorced..my mother is on her 4th husband now...I hated my Dad's wife for many many years...but now I have a good relationship with her, but it was a big struggle getting here! I got pregnant and married young...18....and separated at 21 with 2 small children. I struggled horribly being a single mother and moved 7 times in two years. I ended up marrying again at 24 and had 2 more children. My new husband suffers from seasonal depression and every winter I hate him a little more, plus I don't think he recovers totally in the summer anymore and he is getting harder and harder to live with, plus he drinks and smokes a lot of dope..my oldest child turned into an animal at age 12 and only now at 21 (after being in jail twice, in the state's care for some time, a mother at 16, and giving her baby up for adoption when the baby was 3 years old) is she finally starting to "see the light" and grow up a little. And I wonder how I ended up with depression?????
Anyways, I think the stability of my childhood being shattered so completely at 15 years old really messed with my emotional health and helped me make some really poor choices in life, choices I was unprepared to deal with. I think all I ever wanted was the bliss that was my childhood back and it never did return. I know both of my parents love me and neither of them interfere with my life now, they help when I need the help (ie: after my house burned down), and I am close to both of them and I don't blame them for the hell they made my teen years....I have learned that people are people, even if they are your parents and they can make mistakes as well. But boy their mistakes can sure take a toll on the kids.
poster:Kathie
thread:31459
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000420/msgs/31618.html