Saturday, September 05, 1998
Lee runs for school president
Sep 05 1998 12:00 am
I don't like that disfunctional stigma of single parent homes either. Not so much because its the "NORM" or not but because it implies that well rounded, respectful children can not be raised with in anything other than a nuclear family. That is the premise I reject. My mother and father split when I was 13 and my siblings were 8 and 9. All three of my mother's children are college educated..Duke, UNC-CH, FSU. She has done a wonderful job raising us to be independent and respectful and self assured. She had the double stress of being white and raising interracial children. So, enough of my soap box, I hate that damn "broken" label. We are not broken nor dysfunctional.
*laugh* Wow, that was impassioned wasn't it.
I am married now. I am just visiting from asstep-p. I was a single parent for nine years.
The whole "broken home" thing used to torture me. I worried so much that I was not providing my child with the nuclear family she needed to develop into a healthy adult. My friends, family, and neighbors have all helped me parent her.
She is 11 yo now. The other day she burst in the door after school to tell me that she is running for school president. She was so happy, confident, and excited. I would never have dreamed of running for office in elementary school. When I looked up and saw the "independent and respectful and self assured" person who is my child, I realized that in spite of all our failings and mistakes, single parents can do a damned fine job of raising children.
jane
