This blog is written by a Family Law attorney. The names and facts have been changed to maintain attorney client confidentiality. Even though the letters are fictitious, they are based on true experiences told through the eyes of the children. The children who need a voice and want their parents to remember "we were a family."
Dear Mom and Dad
I do not know why we do not live together anymore. And I do not know why my Mom and Dad say such bad things about each other. I remember when my Mom and Dad used to laugh when they talked together. They used to hug each other. Holidays and summertime was so fun, now they are just something that my parents fight about. I remember that in the morning before I left for school and my parents left for work we talked about what we were going to do today. Who was going to pick me up from school and take me to dance lessons, or to my best friends birthday party, or just to the grocery store. I never used to worry about getting picked up and what would happen. Now I worry about that a lot. Now I worry about lots of stuff, but I cannot tell anyone about it.
I tell my Mom what I think she wants to hear. I tell my Dad what I think he wants to hear. But nobody tells me what I want to hear. Nobody listens to me, so I am going to write letters. Letters to Mom and Dad. Maybe someone will hear me. Maybe I can hear my Mom and Dad laugh when they talk together. Maybe holidays and special events will be fun again. Maybe Mom and Dad can come to my dance recital and sit together instead of on different sides of the gym with mean looks on their faces.
Maybe, maybe. I keep hoping. They are my Mom and Dad. They tell me that even though they are divorced and do not like each other anymore, they still love me. How? How can they hate each other and love me? We were a family. Now I understand that we are not the same family, but we are a new kind of family. Just what kind of family? Maybe we can figure that out together. Maybe.
Love,
Your Daughter
