Divorce From Hell Essay, Research Paper

I was born in Blacksburg, Virginia on September 1, 1980, in Montgomery County Regional Hospital. My parents had me in there early twenty’s. My mom and dad went to VA Tech. My mom majored in biology and my dad majored in Forestry. Since they were in college they had no freedom when I was born. After college my parents and I moved to a condo in Northern Virginia. My mother said that I was a happy kid when they were together. I was always happy to see my dad when he came home. We lived there for a while and then my dad started to change. My mother said he was never around to help raise me he was always out with his friends or at work. He did not have a good job because no one wanted to hire a guy with a forestry degree. In 1982 my dad came home and told my mom the marriage was over. To make matters worse he told her on Mother’s Day. I don’t exactly remember when he told her. The only recollection of that incident was my mom was crying for a long time. After my dad told her we moved into my grandma’s house, also in Northern Virginia, for a few months. My mom said after they got divorced my mood changed. I became very emotional and scared of guys who tried to date her. I remember making up reasons why she should stay home with me. Some of my reasons I used were running away, faking an illness and other stupid stuff to that extent. I guess I was a weird child. I think I was only trying to protect her even though I was only a four-year old. My mom got a job working for the government after my dad left us. At the job in Washington D.C. she met my future step dad, Ivars. They dated for about two years and then they got married. We then moved into his townhouse in Springfield, Virginia; I loved it there. When my sister Allison was born in 1985 everything was good there were no known problems with their marriage. When Ivars was my step dad everything was cool. We played outside. He taught me how to throw a fast ball for softball and he taught me how to ride a bike. However, there was a turn for the worse after about ten years. He stopped talking to me for some reason and he also stopped talking to my mom. I have no idea what happened to him. He was always antisocial, but after the ten years of marriage he stopped helping around the house and made my mom do everything. As a result my mom never left the house to do anything with him. They never went to parties with their friends or went out. They occasionally went to dinner and left me to watch my little sister.

As a result of my step dads behavior my sister and I were getting older we noticed a change in both of our parents. They stopped going out with one another, sleeping in the same room or helping around the house. It was now my mom’s job to do the chores. She mowed the lawn every weekend, gave the dog a bath, and did all the stuff he should have been doing. My step dad was always playing on his computer, watching football, and drinking beer, stuff my mom never did. My mom said my attitude change for the worse. She said I would never talk to him and I never acknowledged his presence in the room. After this was going on for about a year my mom met and started to see a guy named Rick. I was the first to find out about the affair with Rick. Rick worked in the same building as my mom. They met at a convention in Washington D.C. in 1996. They have been together since. The moment my mom met Rick she was a new person. She was always happy even though her marriage was failing. My step dad learned about my mother and Rick when she got pregnant. My step dad begged for a paternity test; for some reason he thought it could be his. He knew in his heart that it was not. I guess it was wishful thinking for him. When my mom told Rick about the baby he said, “no way, get rid of it, I don’t want a child in my life right now.” My mom was heart broken when she heard that. Until my sister Colleen was born Rick did not speak to my mom. He wanted nothing to do with his baby. All of a sudden he came around when Colleen was six months old. My mom has been happy ever since Rick came back into her life. Even though she was sneaking around my step dad’s back, she was happy. About two weeks ago my mother called me to tell me the marriage between my step dad and her was over. I was happy to hear this news. My mom deserves to be happy. I don’t know what my mom is going to do in regards to the house we live in, but I guess it will be figured out sooner or later. My sister is not taking the news very well. She refuses to see Colleen’s dad. I have met Rick a few times. Rick, my mom, and I actually went on a trip to Charlottesville before my baby sister was born. I am happy my mom finally found happiness even though it was in these circumstances.