My family changed eight years ago because my parents divorced. Most children are not happy with their parents getting divorced and it causes more problems, but for us we were happy. Things have changed for the better. Before the divorce, my family was a mess. My father was always working and was never there for us. My mother was left almost alone to balance school, work and three children. Even then she managed to get us out of bed and ready for school every morning while keeping the house clean, my mother was always there for us and never missed anything, not even concerts and sporting events. We were his first priority. But my father, on the other hand, didn't care about any of this. All that mattered to him was work and money. Those were his priorities. his were always third to him. There were many times when we would go days without seeing him. He left early for work and came home late at night because he had to stay at work and work on a new computer from work. He wasn't able to go to many concerts, trips, sporting events or anything like that. It was always too busy for us. When my father had a day off, he spent it working well, working. Even though he wasn't physically at work, he was always mentally at work. He didn't take time out to spend with us kids except to eat, and even then he didn't have much conversation with us. Even though he was there physically, he wasn't there for us emotionally. He was only there because he couldn't go anywhere else. He didn't cook, clean, or help my mother raise us. My mother was stressed but still managed to make us happy. He was our only parent, really. A father who is never home: does he count as a parent? I do not believe. Although... half of the paper... hail. He doesn't know how to care for them or even love them. His biggest priority is work and his second priority is telling us kids how many mistakes we make and throwing them in our faces. He's good at this. He always tells me I'm worthless along with my brothers. While my mother, on the other hand, has always been there for us and has shown us affection. He's a real parent. I don't bother seeing my dad much anymore because it's a waste of time and completely useless. I live with my mom full time now and it's the best choice I could have made. She always stayed by our side and gave us everything she could, even when she struggled to cope. My stepfather is more of a father to me than my real father, but that's okay. Things are going well and life has been good lately. Oddly enough, I can say that divorce is the best thing that has happened to my family.