One of my children typed this letter for a school assignment. He chose to write about his family because he was so happy and proud of the way he was raised. He had immense respect for his parents, all three of them. Since this stupid browser wont allow clipping and pasting, I will be forced to type out his paper. Here goes......


Life as I know it!

Each family has it;s own distinctive lifestyle which can be influenced by many factors. From the extremely structured to the lax, each individual family has it's own way of living day to day life. There are those who enforce an abundance of rules and regulations, and then there are those that simply display a complete lack of either. A category I think most families fall into lies somewhere in between the extremes.

Being raised the majority of my childhood by both parents in the home set me apart from nearly all my friends. Most of them, allowed to pretty much roam free with no curfews, could get away with whatever they wanted. I on the other hand, always had a set curfew in place and was made to check in with either parent on a somewhat regular basis throughout the day, such as every hour on the hour. When it came to the curfew it was usually something along the lines of 9pm or even earlier in my younger years, differing depending on the night of he week or the time of the year, such as summer as opposed to the school year.

Of course while I had some of these rules my friends didn't have, my family life was still pretty laid back. For instance, the curfew rule slowly disappeared as I got older and given more responsibility as did the rule about checking in all the time. Sometimes the rules could be bent to the point of almost breaking, if I was to break any of them there were consequences, something friends of  mine didn't have any kind of concept of. Discipline existed in their homes but it also wasn't something that strictly enforced. Most parents today don't condone the type of discipline that I grew up with, but I thank my parents for putting this in place when I was a child, I believe it made me the respectful person I am today. I was never beat to a pulp, there are limits here, but I understood what would get me a boot in the butt, and thinking back on some of the things I tried to get away with, I believe it was justified. 

There were other things like just simple grounding or being sent to my room that my parents would use against me when I would do something that warranted it. Of course unlike kids today, my bedroom was not equipped with computers and TV's with DVD players, game systems, cell phones, text messaging and mp3 players. The best I had to hope for was my small am/fm radio with a single disc CD player that didn't work half of the time. I think that is where my love for music developed as I spent a lot of time in my room for something or other.

When it came to things such as extracurricular activities, my parents were not the kind to run me all over town signing me up for everything they could find. But if I were to find something that interested me they were supportive 100% and would get me anything I needed to help in the development of that activity. For example, being involved in the school orchestra required instrument rentals every year for approximately 8 years and also the costs of field trips and fund raisers. They would never push me into anything I didn't want to do. Now days you see some parents who continuously have their kids going from here to there, activity ro activity never once considering if this is something their children are actually enjoying. I think there is some sort of social standard that parents today believe they have to conform too so people don't think down on then as bad parents. What they don't realize is that they are burning their children out not letting them just be kids. 

When it comes to how most families live their day to day life, I think that financial comfort is something that plays a pretty major role. Growing up, I knew pretty early on that I was somewhat different from my friends in that my family has always been pretty comfortable in comparison. It allowed us more activities without any sort of question of cost. Also earning an allowance was something that was normal to me but something my friends didn't get the pleasure of.  It also allowed for a more relaxed and less stressful living situation.

Many families today end up separating for a variety of reasons. When I was 17 years old, this happened to my family. I think that because I was the age I was it wasn't as hard as I understood they would get along better separated than together. Now, what most people find off about that situation is that my parents, although apart, are best friends. To this day my father goes to my mother's everyday to see my younger siblings and just pretty much hang out. Also, my mother remarried a few years ago to a man she met from Sweden. He and my father get along great. They play music together, and even work together for the sign shop. I think that the fact my father does not need to do any of those things and does, shows the kind of family life I grew up around. Many people think it's weird that they will see my mother, stepfather, and father all out shopping together for Christmas, or a birthday, or just for something to do. I however find t strange that anyone else thinks that it is odd.

So, although the way I was raised and the way my family life was may not be cookie cutter, or even standard to the way things are done in this day and age.  I believe in how our family works, it created strong and healthy people who felt a lot of love from all their parents. Each family is unique in its own way and each family should be respected for this, and this, this is life as I know it. /END

David,
You played a bit part in this child's life and why he choose to write about us, his parents. I know times are still tough for you right now emotionally, but I hope you can draw strength from the words in his letter. He is behind you, we all are. Some things have changed in our family, but you, me and the children are still strong and there for each other as best we can be. Hang in there, we will all be good and to that place of peace again one day soon. 

I Love You!