They kept telling her that it wasn’t her fault. They kept telling her that everything would be ok. They kept telling her that nothing would change between them. But she kept thinking that it was her fault and that nothing would be ok and that everything would change. Most of that was true.
He seemed to grow distant as she aged.
He shut himself off from the world… or at least tried. Doors slammed, voices rose, fists clenched. She pressed her face into the fur of her dog, crying and praying for this fighting to cease.
Just shut up. Shut up. Shut up. She thought each and every day. Hiding was always an option, but no matter how far away she slipped, the pain still struck her.
Everyone said that she was so sweet and pure, trying to be strong for her family, but truly scared that she wasn’t good enough for anyone. If that wasn’t enough, she had to be lead role in a play, 5 days a week, pretending to be something that she wasn’t.
School.
Each and every person knew her as bright and intuitive, yet a rock with a soft center. The girl was strong for her friends, a fake smile every freaking day.
She was tired.
She was tired.
She. Was. Tired.

Some children have harder lives than most people assume.

I don’t have percentages, or numbers, or straight up facts, but I have my word. My word that when your parents split, a fire of pain and anger swells inside of you that just makes you want to spit flames.
First, tears and a wrenching heartbreak.
Second, an anger bursts inside you, shooting through your every nerve and thought.
Third, guilt. Many kids feel that maybe, just maybe, they split because of me. I made this happen.
Do you know what I say to that? B.S. You’re not the reason your parents decided that they needed a bit of space from each other. Everyone needs a challenge to prove that they are ready for what they are about to face ahead. It was bound to happen, whether you were there or not!
Nope. Squat. Nada. Zero. Goose eggs. Absolutely not. Nay. Nix. Negative. Bull poo poo.
It wasn't even close to your fault-- you did nothing to hurt them or change them. If it was anyone’s fault, blame it on love.
Love is a funny thing, because it fakes you out many a time. Sometimes, you think that life will be a walk in the park. But, that park is a jungle. A spider-infested, weedy, terrifying, crowded jungle that will make you just want to quit. But no, there is something amazing at the end. Something that no movie can display, and only few achieve. Some say its an eternal bliss, some say that its just a passing wave of emotion that is like heaven. But what I say, is that it is different for everyone, but you will know when it finds you.
Don’t mistake that for some schoolgirl crush, and end up having a baby with your high school sweetheart that finds a way to slip from your hands and into something worse. That life that you had just created will feel everything that happens in your family.
He or she will have a soul.
The only thing I ask is to reduce the number of train wrecked, broken hearted children that suffer from missing or divorced parents.
Yes, we are children, but we aren’t stupid and senseless.
We care.
Don’t expect us to handle each of the problems you throw at us like its a piece of pie.
Life sucks. We know. But try not to make it harder.
Are you ready for your next challenge?