Dictionary.com defines divorce as "The legal dissolution of a
marriage. A complete or radical severance of closely connected things."
However, this dry definition does not fully identify divorce at all. It
provides a dry indication of two people legally going their separate ways,
but there is much more involved in divorce. A better definition of divorce
might include "pain," "suffering," and "self-doubt."
I remember the first time I heard my parents argue.
"Get out!" My mom yelled, and threw a pot of boiling soup at my dad
as he ducked out the back door. "You lying, cheating S.O.B.!"
She got down on her hands and knees to mop up the mess on the kitchen
floor, and I remember helping her as her shoulders shook with silent
crying. She cleaned up the kitchen, patted me on the head and said,
"You're a good kid. It's a good thing you don't take after your
Then, she walked slowly down the hall to their bedroom, and shut the
door. I could hear her crying on and off through the night from my room
next door. My dad never came back. After a few days, I noticed the family
pictures were gone off the walls, and my dad's clothes seemed to have
disappeared from their closet when I peeked in one day after school when
mom wasn't home. I missed my dad. I loved my mom, but there was something
missing without my dad in the house. Mom never told me where dad was; in
fact, she didn't talk about his leaving at all. I began to wonder if it
What did I do to make my dad leave'
I used to think to myself after I went to bed. I'd toss and turn in
my bed, trying not to cry, but usually I did anyway. I didn't understand
why my mom had been so angry with my dad that night, but I was there in the
kitchen when he came in, and when she yelled at him. In fact, he hadn't
even gotten his jacket off, and he was just about to ruffle my hair when
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