When I was 9 when I moved in with my real dad, Randy Barnes, and his wife, Carol Barnes…my step-mother. You know, I really don’t like using that “tag” step-mother, because she did raise me, even though she was not my biological mother, she played the part and she played that part very well. You see, I came to them from a very, I mean very abusive step-father. So mom and dad went from raising a daughter that was about to start 1st grade to immediately having a 9 year old, not even a month later 10 year old son. One thing that stuck out was mom and dad’s love for God. I am not going to say that it was a “Cinderella Story” for me, because it wasn’t. It was TOUGH for me.
Now that I am older, and a father, I look back at the whole situation. I put myself into Carol’s shoes and thought of every thing that she went through. I was not her son, I was my dad’s son that was coming from an abusive home. Wow! That must have been an extremely hard decision for them to make, for her to make. That was a life changing event in their lives. Not only was it tough for me, it was extremely tough for them as well. Probably harder on them then it was me. I was by all means not the perfect kid…come on, I had learned some very bad survival skills from my abusive ways. But, you know what, I would not change the events that happened. Could it have been better, sure, but God had a plan for all of us. I could not imagine how my life would have turned out if it wasn’t for Carol. She taught me some very good life lessons that I use, some everyday.
Carol, Mother, Mom, Friend….I thank you and Love you more than you will ever know!!! Happy Mother’s Day!!!
P.S. Thank you for not being the “evil step-mother”.
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