In modern day society divorce is so common that over 50% of children are children of divorce. In my family alone, four couples are divorced. This is a relatively common route for couples who cannot work their marriage out. The day my parents finalized their divorce was one of the happier days of my life. My early childhood was filled with confusion. One night I would be happily sleeping in my bed and the next I was being woken up in the middle of the night to be put in the car to go sleep at my grandma’s house. After the divorce, everything calmed and set the stage for my new life with divorced parents. Too soon for my liking, my dad met a new woman–little did I know that this marriage would change my life for the better. The gut-wrenching feeling when my dad told me he was engaged made the vein in my neck pop out. I was finally his only girl to give all of his attention to and now he was adding a stepmom and a stepsister to my life without even asking. I struggled for months before the wedding to make myself seem as if I was the happiest twelve-year-old in the world who could not wait for her dad to marry another woman a short three years after his divorce. The dreaded day finally came. A series of feeble steps led me into the colossal room filled with fluffy dresses and bags of makeup. As a girl who loved getting dressed up any chance I got, it was out of the ordinary that the muscles in my face strained so hard to force a smile as I got ready. One woman zipped and tied me into my dress while another pulled and prodded with my hair. I was finally ready for her big day. I strutted down the aisle as everyone’s attention was finally on me. My eyes rolled to the back of my head as everyone’s heads turned to watched my stepmom come down the aisle. As I watched them say I do, I looked anywhere but my dad’s gaze. After he danced with my new stepmom, it was my turn. As he danced with me and held me I realized the new man my dad had become. He wasn’t tired. He wasn’t yelling. He was my dad. He was the man I had always known but had not seen in years. My parent’s marriage had put such a strain on him and now he was finally happy again. As a child, it hurt to know that another woman had made him happy and my view was that I was not good enough. As I look back on this moment, I realize that my dad would not be the man he is today without my stepmom. He is a better father to me and a better husband. In turn, her presence has improved my life immensely. My dad has learned a new meaning of fatherhood and our relationship has never been better. This is all because of my stepmom.