Clarke Central High School senior and Co-Editor-in-Chief Lucia Bermudez is pictured enjoying a Thanksgiving meal with her friends, family and “new family”. Bermudez’s mother is remarrying in the spring and Bermudez is grateful to have spent the break with who will soon be her step-siblings.
Clarke Central High School senior and Co-Editor-in-Chief Lucia Bermudez reflects on her parent’s divorce and one of the best things that has resulted from it: a new set of family members.
Family has always been incredibly important to me. From Christmas celebrations to family vacations, some of the best moments in my life have been shared with those I love most.
My immediate family consists of my mom, dad and two younger sisters. They are undoubtedly the people in my life I love and value most, which is why my parent’s divorce was not the happiest moment in our lives.
My parents divorced in the summer of 2014, as I was entering my freshman year of high school. The transition was easier than most, but of course, it was a major adjustment and change for our family.
My siblings and I now live in two separate homes, go back and forth between houses, and take turns with my parents for holiday vacations, such as this past Thanksgiving break.
Since 2014, our life has transitioned from choppy, uncharted waters to a smooth, new normal. My parents are each better than ever, and still continue to be great parents to me and my sisters. However, this Thanksgiving break, our family experienced something different.
We spent our break in New York with my mom, her fiancé and his children. My mom has been with her fiancé for three years, and he has been a significant part of our lives. However, it wasn’t until we spent time with him and his kids in New York that made me appreciate a certain facet of divorce I never had before: new family.
As my mom’s fiancé becomes a part of our family, his family becomes ours too. I’m gaining three new step-siblings and whole new set of people who are just as loving and supportive as my own blood.
Getting to share experiences and connect with them is invaluable to me, and I’ve realized that though divorce can be difficult and sad for many families, for ours, it has undoubtedly brought about even more positivity and love than ever before.
