parents
The boundless love a parent has for their child is matched only by their capacity to embarrass them.
Odd Wo(man) Out
“A daughter is just a little girl who grows up to be your best friend.” Well, that wasn’t true for my mother and I. I always knew that my mother loved me. She did after all raise me to be the smart, beautiful, strong, and amazing woman that I am today. However, I never had a close relationship with my mother. I am my mother’s only biological daughter. But when she met my father, he had two children, a son and a daughter. When I was born, my mom wanted to make sure that I had a relationship with my older siblings no matter how far away they were. She took in my siblings and cared for them like they were her own. She was always good at that. She always looked out for people and she was always someone that people could depend on. I got that trait from her. But there were a lot of other things that I did not get from her, such as her affection and attention. She gave most of that to my sister. This made me envious of my older sister and as you can imagine, it put a strain on us growing closer. We didn’t get to be each other's best friends as sisters are supposed to be. Instead, I grew up hating her because she had my mother wrapped around her finger. Even to this day, my sister and my mother are closer than I am with either one of them. My sister and I’s relationship did get better. I started to feel like I could go to her and confide in her. My sister is the only relative that I have that I have ever told about my suicidal thoughts. Who knows if she ever told anyone but she was the only person that I was close to at that difficult point in my life.
By Shanita Marshall8 years ago in Families
How I Live With a Disability
Hello folks, welcome to another article here on Vocal. It's been awhile for me. I last wrote in March with a great article talking about driving which got a nice award for it being on the front page on Vocal’s site in the appropriate category. Today, I want to take a different approach to an article and talk about living with a disability and what was done to support me both in the technology side, as well as life in general.
By Jared Rimer8 years ago in Families
The 5 Stages of Becoming a Step-Parent
Entering a new relationship is never easy, but entering one when your new partner has a child already seems to be an atomic bomb of emotions and trials. Suddenly, you are faced with a small person, who even if you have known them all of their life, is now the tiny dictator of your home life. Suddenly, you have to take on a different role, the role of "You will test me, and I will not let you break me, I am an adult, I can do this." No amount of you telling yourself you are an adult can prepare you for this, no amount of coffee or chocolate will help you either. If anything, you will lose that chocolate in your new secret hiding places you are now having to find for sweets.
By Emily Wiggins8 years ago in Families
The Importance of Parents & Consistency
What happens when you and your partner do not agree on how to parent your children? This is a tough one, but also a very important one. My husband and I come from two very different upbringings. His with two parents and six other siblings. Mine with divorced parents, many step-parents, and siblings but raised apart and only together at certain times of the year. Coming together as parents can be very difficult but very crucial to your children's development. My husband and I are still working on this and it's honestly been the main topic of disagreements for us. We rarely argue, but if there is a disagreement this is usually the reason. We don't realize it at times but we were continuously battling each other and hurting one another's feelings almost daily because of this.
By Rochelle H8 years ago in Families
You Are Not Perfect Parents
Let's be real, every parent wants to be the perfect parent for their children, however, you almost instantly realize no such parent exists. Being a parent is a HARD JOB, the hardest job I personally have ever had. When you start your journey or unpaid career as a parent you don't have a Bachelor's Degree going in. There is no schooling for being a parent, sure there are plenty of books, believe me, I have read them and still do. Until you give birth and become a parent, your true education doesn't start until you are on the job. I am so extremely thankful for the many books to assist with the ups and downs and the "Oh no, what do I do now?" moments as a parent.
By Rochelle H8 years ago in Families
The ONLY Time My Mother
I lived in a trailer park, not proud to say, but it was somewhere my mother thought would be a good place for us to live; plus it was her idea for "doing her best" for what little she had. It was just her and I. I was 5-years-old, long black hair, dark eyes, olive toned skin. I got a few verbal shots fired at me for being a "mixed" kid and lucky for me, I had no idea what that was. I was always dirty, playing in mud after a rainfall or running through the cornfield in bare feet not giving a care in the world about ticks or snakes.
By Renee Doyen8 years ago in Families
