My parents divorced when I was in college, even though they talked about divorcing when I was in grade school but didn't so that we had a "complete" family. If I had known about that before I wouldn't have wanted it, would have saved a lot of problems we had down the road. Everything is fine though, my mother and father get along great and we get together all the time. It hasn't soured me on marriage though, I'd like to get married some day and have kids.
After reading all of the responses it seems as though many of our parents: 1. Got married relatively early (18-25) 2. Have since re-married and are just much HAPPIER people. 3. Have left us (the kids) with a bleak and somewhat hopeless perception about marriage and love. When you go through the bulk of your parents marriage (my parents had been married for 22 years and I was 19 when they made it offical), it really makes you think about how much it means to be with the right person. And for me personally, it has been hell trying to find a mate I am completely compatible with (since I dont really plan on getting a divorce myself). On the brighter side, I really like my parents a lot better now. My dad's girlfriend/ future wife complements him perfectly and she is really cool and easy going. My mom's husband, although I dont have a helluva lot in common with the guy, loves my mom unconditionally and is a genuine guy all around. Here come the emotions.......
My parents divorced when I was 12. My mom was a little rich girl who fell in love with my "deep and depressing" father, who was a grad student where she went to school. It was also a form of rebellion, since her family HATED him... it didn't work... they wanted entirely different thinks... she came to want security, he wanted to be Thoreau. My mom hates my dad. My dad still loves my mom, but got remarried. Oddly enough, I was THE LAST PERSON in town to know he was getting remarried, since we're close, and he didnt' know how to tell me. My stepmother's a conniving b**** who had been going for him even when my parents were still together. I have mega-issues with her. She's from an army family, and believes deeply in physical labor, etc. She also thinks she's somehow my superior, even though it's my dad's house, and I'm 21. I treat her as an equal... even though she's a flake. Goes through a new spiritual revival every 2 years... each one as empty as before. Actual quote: "The pristine snows around me dazzle my heart and fill me with joyous hope and the richness and marvels of life. WIthout such beauties, life would be an empty shadow of nothingness and disapair. I am full, like a blossom, and soak up the love of God through all that exists around me. Beauty! Love! Heavens above, pink skies and sunsets! The waving trees sway my poor soul! The small flakes around me join me in boundless merriment! Oh to be alive! Oh to be one with nature! Nature has more than the city because it is true in my heart!" That from an email she sent me last weak. There have been WORSE ones before! Ugh.
