Children of single parents. Who was the worst person your parent has dated? My dad started dating a woman who firmly believed that I was part of his old life and that he needed to cut ties with me. I was 14 and became terrified my mom would find someone who would do the same. And I'd end up with no family. My dad's ex-fiancee. She was almost our evil stepmother until one day she decided to call me a fat, lazy

female dog and my dad realized how awful she was to my sister and I. That was the day I learned

how much he actually cared for us as well. He dumped her butt and kicked her out of the house.

Her awful daughter left too and it was finally peaceful at my dad's again. He dated her on and

off for years afterwards until she went back with her ex-husband.

My dad has sworn her off for good now, which I'm glad for since she was a toxic person. I wish

he could find someone worth his time, though. I know he gets lonely. We'll call him Jose. Younger than

my mom, chronically unemployed, a drinker, violent, and literally illiterate. But good looking, so my mom was smitten.

My mom was from a good, in-name family. She had education. She had two little daughters,

and she brought this scumbag to our peaceful little apartment, and he settled in right away,

beating the crap out of all of us, impregnating my mom four times, running off for months,

and never paying child support. When he was around, he would be honest mercilessly, and my

mom just stood by like a freaking div, not intervening. When my younger brother was hooping for

attention, Jose, a grown man, would hit him. Finally, my mom got diagnosed with lupus and

Jose found out and literally abandoned

her at the pharmacy. Years later, we find out that he had been essentially abusing my older sister.

I am still so mad at my mom for the decades of bull crap we endured with that man. He was literally

a cancer and she couldn't summon the self-esteem to leave him, even when he was beating us

with extension cords.

There's a poem by Neira O'aheed called Before You Get That Key Made that should be handed out

to every single mother.

To hell with your loneliness, protect your kids.

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