Cody

By Mike Hall, November 9, 2015

Cody is caught in the middle.

As an only child, there was no one he could turn when his parents began arguing last spring.

It was obvious to him that this was not how families should get along.

As the fighting intensified, Cody would huddle on the floor in his closet with the door closed.

His kindergarten teacher was concerned because of the sadness that seemed to consume him. When his parents divorced in July, he felt as if an earthquake had turned his world upside down.

Cody lives with his mother during the week and with his dad on weekends. His life feels like the beach ball batted around at a Red Rocks concert.

In September, Mrs. Parkhurst (Cody’s first grade teacher) called to arrange a meeting with his mother. She too was concerned that Cody was not thriving and seemed distant one day and angry the next.

His mom, Heather, said the divorce had been very contentious and that a Cold War climate still existed with her ex-husband.

Caught in the middle…..so young to experience the rage and the nightmares that spur him to rush to his mom’s bed at night.

Cody still clings to the hope that his parents will get back together. He stands for the longest time looking toward the driveway on Sunday’s after his dad drops him off…..somehow not believing that this turmoil continues from week to week.

In a way, he’s caught in the middle of a giant maze with no way out. How many Cody’s are there….how many sweet kids are enduring broken homes and seeking an escape from the rift that started small and that now seems so cataclysmic?

 

**. In the U S, there are fifteen million kids being raised in single parent homes.