Valerii Honcharuk - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
This 19-year-old guy’s parents had him when they were very young, and it was unplanned. He remembers a lot of rough times growing up, listening to his parents argue and constantly hearing about financial struggles.
Things started to turn around when his mother left his father, and she started seeing his stepfather, who brought financial stability and love. Together, his mother and his stepdad have a 4-year-old daughter named Melody.
He recognizes that his mom is in a much better position now than she used to be, and so the gifts and attention that Melody receives are understandably larger than what he got.
“When I was younger, it frustrated me to see her loved in a way I never was, but now I know that my mom did her best with the experience and resources she had. It’s just bad luck that it worked out the way it did,” he explained.
Recently, his parents threw a huge birthday party to celebrate Melody turning 4 and invited all of their family, friends, and people that they knew from Melody’s daycare.
Soon enough, after a few drinks were had, the mothers at the party started gossiping with his mom. He overheard them start to tell stories about their children, and he was surprised to hear his mom start to tell stories about him rather than Melody.
She shared how he used to collect change to give to her and his father in hopes that it would get them to stop fighting with each other.
She referred to it as learning from her practice kid and how since she and her current husband never fought in front of Melody, she’s a much easier child than he was.
“That story is a painful memory for me, so I was hurt that she thought it was so hilarious, but I didn’t say anything and tried to brush it off,” he said.
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