So....how does that work?

Hi, my name is Annie and I have three brothers, two dads and one mom. When I was 6 years old, my mom and dad sat me and my three brothers down and told us that they were getting a divorce, that we were moving to Pennsylvania with mom, and that dad was gay.

The next week we moved to Warren, Pennsylvania, a tiny rural town with a population of roughly 10,000 people. Now, this is one of those towns where everyone knows each other and the families have lived there for generations. There’s a church on almost every street corner and we had the first day of hunting season off from school. I spent my time traveling between Warren, PA and Akron, Ohio for the next 12 years of my life. Every other weekend my mom would drive my brothers and I to a McDonalds in Erie, Pa where we would meet my dad and he’d drive the rest of way to Akron. (If you grew up with divorced parents I would love to know what your family’s dropoff/pickup spot was.) We’d spend the weekend with my dad and his partner John and then make the drive back to Warren. We were the only people in this town with this type of family structure, and because of that, we were met with some….. interesting and unwarranted opinions. One of my little brothers was bullied by his peers and by parents at our school to the point where he had to be hospitalized three times for suicide watch. We each faced our own trials and adversities along the way which I will delve into in later posts. And whenever I have described my family to new people, just about every person I’ve ever met asks the question “...So... how does that work?”

My blog is going to be about just that. How it works. I would like to share my experiences with growing up with divorced and LGBTQ+ parents and provide insight and education into what that family looks like and the stigmas/ adversity family members have to overcome. Far too often I’ve heard “I’m so sorry, that must have been so hard for you to grow up like that” when in reality, I have three incredible parents and mentors. I am so blessed to have the family that I do and I thought that it was fitting to write my blog celebrating my family and sharing my stories during pride month.

Welcome to my blog! Love wins.