Yeah, I remember my Dad calling me some pretty awful things. I probably deserved it, but those words are scarred into my head : / It’s a big deal wiht a grownup uses mean words to a kid, even if the kid is a teenager.

I think about the same thing. I have no college debt because I went to a military Academy and then earned a few degrees while in on tuition assistance. I worked really hard on that! But I also had amazing parents who were into education and could pay for sports so my sister and I could be the type of kids that went to…

I have the same thing. And I’m so, so, so thankful because I realize I had NOTHING to do with the family I was born into, or that my Dad started a Roth IRA for me when I was 5. I just hope that whatever extra cash I end up with I do the right thing with.

I lived in rural Missourah and graduated high school in 2003. I had married classmates.

Oh man, TheLonelyGuy, you definitely need help : )

it’s more that the marriage has been falling apart for awhile and I just orbited in at a weird time - they just told their extended family they are getting divorced : /

Is mental illness an issue with your family? I wonder...

It seems really bizarre to me too. So I remind myself that it’s not for me to judge and that every family has their weird tweaks - there’s just might be weirder than mine : / He’s a fully functional adult with children, a small business, and is a successful and locally known athlete... so, yeah, the whole thing is…

Oh good news! The family knows he drinks! He snuck a bottle of cinnamon whiskey and was taking shots in the bathroom, and thus lead to a massive family blowup... They poured out his whiskey and had an intervention about him being an alcoholic.

Yup! It’s a mess : /

Thanks! I appreciate the luck! It’s a horrible situation for everyone involved and they’re just hoping the little ones remember it as a fun time with their cousins and not when all of the adults were fighting...

Thanks for the advice! Any time I talk about this someone brings up that point, and I’m super thankful because it’s a reminder to keep my eyes open. In this case, unfortunately, I think it’s the world’s saddest and most tragic Thanksgiving and I have front row seats : /

He and I didn’t know each others’ family too well, and with how painful this divorce is, I wouldn’t want to be contacted or get a Christmas card from his parents. Maybe someday... but not today.

I’m pre-programmed to LOVE human connection, so I get super bummed out when relationships crash and burn for no apparent reason. It makes me almost terrified to connect with people because what is a casual friend drift-off to most people is SO PAINFUL to me. I’m seriously happiest alone anymore because there’s no…

Oh man, I’m so sorry... I’ve watched through friends how the death of a parent can really shake things up in ways noone expects. One of my best friends’ Dad died (expected), and all hell bust loose in that family. And he was a preacher too! Grief is just so hard to deal with.

This is my first Thanksgiving since divorce. I’m really struggling with the idea that people I considered family are now strangers, and that if I ever marry into another family (or someone marries into mine), it’s a conditional relationship. My Dad loved my husband like a son and now will never talk to him again.

This is happening AS WE SPEAK!

How can we get more stories like this? I know nothing about life in a nunnery or the negative impacts to young women. I’m really glad your mom had an advocate. Keep up the good work!

THIS COMMENT! I needed some nice, light hearted giggling after reading all of these.

OH! When I was 10, we lived in rural Oregon in cougar country... In flagrant violation of GSA rules, my Mom would send me to “flog cookies” (her words) alone. I went in my full Juniors Girl Scout uniform - green skirt, shirt, vest, shoes, the whole deal. As I was crossing through the woods from one house to another, a…