I grew up in a home where my parents separated when I was in 1st grade. Mother who gained custody had sever bipolar which led to days where she literally would

I grew up in a home where my parents separated when I was in 1st grade. Mother who gained custody had sever bipolar which led to days where she literally would not get out of bed. When I was in 6th grade I remember having to pack lunches for my sister who was 4 years younger and make sure we both went to the bus stop and got to school each day. It was a bit more difficult when I hit the 7th and 8th grades as the school in the area started those grades an hour earlier than K-6 and my sister and I no longer rode the same bus at the same time. We managed pretty good, and my sister and I are very close to this day because of how we took care of each other growing up. I also had immense freedom, no curfew/bedtime and freedom to roam unsupervised unless my grades slipped. I enjoyed the freedom so I managed to keep my grades up my entire education. It helped that cell phones in the hands of every child were still not a thing, just as I turned 18 and moved out on my own is when I remember getting my first cell phone.