Divorce is the seven letter word ever kid fears.

It means your family is no longer a family, you’ll be carted back and forth between two houses during the week and holidays will be spent being fought over for whose house you’re supposed to be at. It’s a childhood fear everyone has but for many it actually comes true. When the talk finally happens and your parents break the news of how they no longer love each other but will always love you an entirely new set of fears emerges.

What if they move away? Does this mean that I have to choose a side, who I love more? And the worst of them all, what if they get remarried?

Our parents tried to put our fear to rest telling us that we’ll never be replaced and that it’s what’s best for the family but no one really believes them. Empty hopes and wishes that maybe they’ll get back together come to every kids’ mind until one day their parents are breaking news once again but this time it’s to say that someone new is going to be added to the family, they are getting remarried. Our worst fear has come true, but maybe it’s not a bad thing after all. There have been plenty of hurdles to jump over with divorce and the addition of step parents but there have also been plenty of prizes waiting on the other side of the finish line. I now have not only two parents who love me but four. I am loved twice as much as I was before and have twice as much family than I thought I needed. Holidays are still spent going back and forth between sets of parents but I know that no matter whose home I’m in I am loved just as much as I would be somewhere else. I also gained two more sets of grandparents because honestly you can never have too many.

There are still challenges that have to be faced but that would come with every family whether they have experienced a divorce or not. Overall I have never been more thankful for these amazing people who have entered my life. Every day I wonder who I would be without them and all I can come up with is not nearly as strong and loved as I am now. My parents have never been happier and I owe it all to divorce. After everything they have sacrificed for me up to this point in my life they deserve to be happy no matter who it’s with.

Thank you to my amazing and supportive stepparents, I’m thankful to have your constant support and encouragement with every step I take in my life. It takes a selfless person to raise someone else’s kid as their own.