When I got divorced in 2016, the most traumatic part of the ordeal was knowing my kids would spend half their time away from me. But that was my perspective and I needed to sublimate my emotions and promote the positive attributes of the situation, for my childrens’ mental health. Writer Albert Iturregui-Elias penned “Two Homes = One Heart Filled with Love” to express the saga of his five-year-old son Sebastian having to divide his time between two homes, starting in 2004.
Sebastian’s mother, singer/songwriter Suzi Shelton, turned the poem into a song a few years later. Now the stepparent of seven-year-old Julia, Shelton has re-recorded “Mama’s House, Daddy’s House.” The revised, poppy version features new vocals featuring Julia and is accompanied by an animated comic book-style video by Sebastian’s uncle, Alcides Urrutia of Pirata Y Luna Editorial. As the chorus explains:
Mama’s House (Not always easy)
Daddy’s House (To go back and forth)
One heart (I know they love me)
Filled with love
A lot has happened in the Shelton household since the original recording in 2008. Fifteen years makes quite a difference. “Mama’s House, Daddy’s House” shows how children don’t have to be used as negotiating tools or pawns, and should be kept excluded from the dark side of divorce. While the tune also worked as an unpaid advertisement for Dizzy’s Diner in Park Slope, the venue closed in 2020 and reopened last year as Parkview Market.
Kudos to the Shelton brood for making things work. My situation is a work in progress. Shelton is hosting a live release and viewing party on Friday, May 6 at 4 PM ET on her Facebook and YouTube channels. She plans to debut the song and share stories about blended families around the globe.
You can download music from Suzi Shelton at her website, Amazon, Spotify, and Apple Music.
