Courtesy of Family (Madison’s Father)
When I was in kindergarten, my mom and dad got divorced. Afterward, I lived with my mom in Crofton, Maryland. But I still saw my dad a lot, and we always had fun together. We liked to watch The Simpsons. We did a lot of fishing. And we could talk about classical music for hours. I played the violin at the time, and he played the trumpet.
But everything changed on a Friday night when I was 10 years old. My mom came into my room, lay on my bed with me, and said, “Can we have a serious talk?” Then she told me the shocking news: My dad had made a bad mistake, and he was going to jail.
My smile fell to the bottom of the Earth. My eyes started to water. Then I started to cry.
I had so many questions: How could he do this? Was it OK to be mad? What will people think about me? Will I ever see him again?