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All families are works in progress... |
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Description | More From
the Teens
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More From the Teens Christina, Amanda, and Chris participate in a divorce support group at Hunterdon Central High School in New Jersey. It took me a while
to get help dealing with the divorce. It all started like when my
mom found out that my grades were dropping and stuff like that, and
that I really didn't care about anything. Like even sports, which
I care about to death! So my mom realized that things were heading
downhill, she came up to me and asked, "What do you think about
the divorce? What's going through your mind?" And then she asked,
"How about going to see a therapist?" She just wanted me
to have someone to talk to when I needed it. Then I had a meeting
during school with a bunch of my teachers and my counselors, and my
guidance counselor actually had recommended that I go to the support
group at the school.
I didn't tell
my friends at first, because I was scared. I was afraid they'd say
something like, "Your parents are divorced? That's so weird."
But then when I come here to the support group, you know everyone
else is like that, so I can talk with Kevin (the leader) or anyone
else.
Andy and Nick had to adjust when their father remarried and their new stepmom's two teenage children came to live with them. I thought my dad
would never get remarried. My mom got remarried and I never really
liked her new husband. I didn't really like it because it's not your
biological parents together, it's not the way God intended it. I've
seen families with parents that stay together, they seem so much happier.
But by the grace of God my dad made this family really tight after
a long time, after a lot of hardships. I didn't look at stepfamilies
in a positive way until I was in it for a long time. I didn't think
that this family would work. It's by the grace of God that we're here
today together, that I'm here right now and I think that trusting
in Him just made us all come together as one. Because we all had that
one belief that's so strong.
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The hardest thing
for me was the embarrassment factor. Well, maybe embarrassment isn't
the exact word, but my family used to always eat dinner together,
and I felt like we were close. I always felt really lucky that we
were like that because I knew a lot of my friends' families never
sat down together, and it was always really important to me. So when
my parents got divorced, it was weird. I thought people would perceive
us just another completely dysfunctional family and that made me feel
uncomfortable. The other difficult thing has been my dad. I always
felt that I had a really great relationship with my dad. I love my
dad, he's absolutely wonderful, and I just wish I got to see him more
often. Being away from him has actually been really hard, and every
time I go visit him it gets harder to leave, every time. Because it's
not just having fun there, it's, you know, being with my dad and remembering
what it's like to have him there every day. I miss that very much.
I think it would
have been better if my parents just cut it off immediately, because
they just went back and forth. It was like, are they together or not?
Because with my parents they didn't act like they were divorced, they
just had two separate houses. We still hung out together and did things
as a family and then all of a sudden, there was no more. That was
my dad's part. He said to my mom, "No I don't want to see you
anymore, I'm seeing other people" and stuff like that. I didn't
really like the transition I would have rather had it one way or the
other, not halfway, because it's just confusing. Dating
is hard to get used to because all the way up until fifth grade, my
parents were together. In my brain there's no other way, its like
my parents are together, they're not gonna see anyone else. And then
suddenly they're divorced and they're seeing other people and it just
doesn't fit in. My parents are supposed to be my only parents and
there aren't supposed to be other parents! But I guess I sort of got
used to it because they've been divorced for five years, so you get
used to them being separate after a year.
My mom used to
say, "Oh, what did you do with your dad this weekend?" when
I'd to go see him. And I'd be like, "We went to the movies,"
and she'd be like, "He takes you to the movies? Well, next week
we're going to the movies," like you know to get back. Then I
would tell my dad, and he would be like, "But that's our thing
we do together," and I would be like, "Well I can't tell
her NO." So it really it puts you in a sticky situation. When
my mom started dating, I had to help my little sister. She would be
there for me and I would be there for her, so when she was upset about
something, I would say, "It's okay, talk to me," and stuff
like that. Mom would go out late and we would wake up in the middle
of the night and she wouldn't be home. My sister would be like, "I
want mommy" and start crying and stuff. In a way she looks up
to me. I was the big sister and had to do everything.
At first I wanted
my own room and I was mad because I was like, "Andy should have
to share a room with our new stepbrother." But I didn't win that
one because he's older. But now, I like sharing the room. It's really
fun, so I don't mind it. We also used to have a babysitter, and the
babysitter didn't care what we did, so we'd do whatever we want. Once
our stepmother Donna was home watching us, we had rules to follow.
Which was a good thing. Just at the time we didn't think it was.