At what age is a child old enough to understand the "truth" about the family?? I have been wondering this for a while now, Chad and I have been married for almost 7 years and during our 7 years of marriage we have encountered some of the hardest times. If I told you what they were some of you would be amazed. Most of them had to do with dealing with all the many battles in his family. My life and his life growing up as a child was like Aladdin and Jasmine.Now I say that in the nicest way possible, I do not think in way I was better than him but I know that my family and child hood was a lot better than his was. When he finally got to the age that he could sign up for the army he felt that, that would be his only way out of the craziness that he endured on a daily basis. Once he was in the army and into the "real" world he soon realized just how messed up his family actually was. Even in basic training and through some of the darkest days of his life he was alone with NOBODY to turn to for guidance. By this point in his life he was able to block and hold in ALL of his emotions. He began bottling it all up and then like a ticking time bomb he would explode. By the time his four year service to the army was over he had already been divorced, filed bankruptcy, and lost his home. A lot for someone at 23 to take in. When we started dating he was fresh out of the service and he was lost at to where to go next in his life. Of course me being a senior in High school (yes thats right HIGH SCHOOL) I had no guidance to give him, I was just excited to be dating "CHAD BRIDGES" funny now .... I never really knew the "truth" behind his family issues until much later in our relation, but I did however know that he did not have a normal everyday family like I was use to. We dated for one year before he purposed and then waited a year after that before we got married.

I always knew that I would marry him...Funny but I have to throw this story in... When I was in middle school Deanna lived across from Chad and he and Travis use to drive this big blue van and they use to chase us in it and scare us and try to give us candy...They were mean but Deanna and I loved them...Before Chad left to go to the army we actually rode the ferris wheel together at the catfish festival (yeah I know romantic huh?) I was like 13 which made him 18 or 19 and me having puppy love for him.... When he left I use to write him all the time...NEVER got a response and I believe that Deanna use to tell me to give up I would never see him again.. Then when I was a freshman he came in on leave and we ran into each other at a football game and he wrote his "new" address down for me LOL....(which I still have) I wrote more to him then and still nothing.... Oh well I thought I had done what I could to try to keep in touch. I use to tell all my friends that I was going to marry somebody from my past that was going to sweep me off my feet and I always said it would be Chad...HMMM weird huh...He came back in from duty for good I dropped everything for him and here we are.

Okay so back to why I started typing this blog. Before Peyton came along we really didn't worry to much about what we encountered over the years as long as we still had each other. But when Peyton came along we made a pack to not let her life be anything like the life he had...Even though Chad wont admit it I know he was terrified to become a daddy. He knew he didn't want to be the father that his father was to him. And I really just think that since he never had his dad there he didn't really know how to be. But when Peyton was born he has more than fulfilled his duties as father...He is the greatest dad EVER!!! But his family issues always lingered in the back of his head. Now as Peyton is getting older and grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles have come in and out of her life and confused her beyond belief I often find ourselves asking "When should we explain the truth behind the life long family issues that will forever be apart of her life?" I know that 5 years old is pretty young but she is a very smart five year old, (no comment Laurie I know I have told you more than anybody all she knows LOL) She is starting to ask questions about why she can't go see this person, or why she never talks to this one? I really just don't know what to say so normally I say "well they live far away." I know that EVERY family has issues it doesn't matter who you are there will always be problems in the family.

So when is the right age? I obviously do not want her to worry about problems like this but I also want her to understand at some point...Just always thinking about the deep stuff....