“You are so lucky that you were raised by both of your parents in the same household.” Is what I was told far too often in my childhood.
Where I grew up it was rare to see a Mother and Father raise a family in the same household. Yet, I didn’t know it was rare until people were genuinely surprised at the lifestyle I lived.
The experience of being raised in a two-parent household is an experience like any other. My parents had three daughters, me being the youngest. My parents treated all three of us like we were Princesses. When I was about 5, we finally moved into a house that felt like my own personal kingdom in a sense. The Blige Castle is what I thought of it as. My mother was the Queen and my father was the King. All five of us were a perfect family, we belonged in the front of a magazine with our German Shepard Maxine.
One of the many things I loved about my parents is how they were both raised completely different. My father was raised by both his parents and is the oldest of five, he was raised in the “Projects” of Connecticut. My mother was raised by her Grandmother but is also the oldest of five and was raised in “Hood” of Atlanta.
My parents only wanted the best for their daughters, so in turn, they never believed in gender roles. My mother raised my sisters and me to become a wonderful young lady that can do wifely duties. Then our father also raised us to also know how to mow a lawn and rake leaves, sometimes we would take out that trash but that wasn’t my cup of tea.
I loved that I always saw my parents happy when they were married. Growing up I felt like I was in a television show. Until I got older and things started to become reality and my television show life is now a nightmare. Although now my parents are divorced it only really seems like it because my parents now live in two different states. I know that both still have love for each other, and that’s what makes me happy. Despite the current state of their relationship, I can always look back on the great childhood I had, and appreciate them bot for it.