I can relate to the empty driveway of my childhood home my parents had no friends due to my mother having mental illness and my father being a gambler. His father was my abuser. I married a gambler and an abuser.

My dirveway became an empty one also. Like you I wish I had a family that was togeather like other familys. However my x husband turned my children against me due to covering up of fraudulent documents that I found. I have not dared to show my children as I do not want them to think I am just being nasty. I have six grand children that I do not see. He never contributed finacialy to there upbringing. I developed a mental illness like my mother due to all the trauma from my past and preasent truma I was experienceing at this time.

Their father did not have any place in my two son's upbringing as he was never at home he went of all around the world gambling so I bought thme up on my own.
And yet he is in there lives now after never being there when they were children. I do not understand this. Any answers