{"id":5223,"date":"2010-06-19T19:25:40","date_gmt":"2010-06-20T03:25:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.godammit.com\/?p=5223"},"modified":"2010-06-19T23:17:51","modified_gmt":"2010-06-20T07:17:51","slug":"a-tale-of-two-parents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/godammit.com\/a-tale-of-two-parents\/","title":{"rendered":"A Tale of Two Parents"},"content":{"rendered":"

Years passed and we became the most mismatched couple you could ever imagine. He developed a knee-jerk respect for any kind of authority; I reveled in rejecting it. He somehow became a Republican. I continued to be a bleeding heart liberal. He continually worried about What the Neighbors Would Think. I ridiculed his conformity.<\/p>\n

For a long time, I considered this marital battlefield a benefit to our son. In my view, Max had been exposed to different philosophies and different sensibilities. This would enrich his thinking and give him a chance to decide for himself what he believed in…what kind of person he wanted to be.<\/p>\n

Now I wonder how difficult it must have been to grow up with such conflict. I think that kids want stability more than anything, and they aren’t served by conflicting role models. I feel really bad about this, although I can’t change history. All this duality can only foster a terrible sense of conflict. Mom is a lazy hippie and dad is a tense workaholic. Their opposing natures aren’t yin and yang. They’re just a clash of belief systems that wears everyone down.<\/p>\n

Max’s dad and I finally split up and I found the right husband, but to this day we need an interpreter to help us communicate, since we are from different planets if not galaxies.<\/p>\n

Did any of you grow up with mismatched parents? Was there any redeeming aspect to this, or was it just torture?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"