The announcement of an engagement is typically made with joy and verve. We don’t think about how to break the news or what people’s reactions will be. We shout about our nuptials from the rooftop and flash our shiny rings. Announcing a divorce is a different beast. In the days that led up to my …
When my ex-husband and I were divorcing four years ago, my daughter’s only question was if her dad and I would both be at the hospital when she had a baby someday. She needed to know that in the midst of so much loss that the picture she had in her head of what that …
I met my ex-husband’s girlfriend for the first time a few weeks ago at my daughter’s baby shower – a shower that I hosted for 42 of my friends and family. Dinner and a show. No pressure. In the weeks leading up to the shower, I might have overthought the situation. It’s in the ex-wife …
My kids all had varying reactions to the news of our divorce. My oldest son, 24-years-old at the time, had always been the practical one. He thanked us for a perfect childhood, said he appreciated the sacrifices we had made and then asked if he could come home the following weekend to get his old …
Four years ago, much of my life as I knew it was disintegrating. I’d been diagnosed with a handful of chronic, serious illnesses; my marriage was ending, my kids were grown and gone and I felt like I had little control over the direction my life was heading. I was terrified. I don’t typically indulge …
I spent the last few nights removing all traces of me and my family from my home. I took all of the photographs and turned them around to the image that was there when I bought the frame. I inserted blank pages into the 5 X 7 spaces, leaving even more to the imagination. I …
We are all midway through something every single day. It can be our life, school, parenthood, a career, a diet, or something as simple as learning a new skill. When we’re midway through a goal or a stage, we’ve gained perspective, our confidence has grown and we’ve probably earned a few bruises and learned some …
I lived in the same house in Missouri from the year I was born until I was dragged kicking and ya’lling to North Carolina when I was 14 years old. My subdivision, Apple Hill, sat across the street from the elementary school and made Leave it to Beaver’s neighborhood look like a crack den. The …
When it became party fodder that my husband and I were separating, I began getting messages from friends I hadn’t heard from in a very long time. Life had taken us in different directions after our kids had grown and gone. They’d ask to have dinner, or perhaps, drinks. I eagerly agreed to see them. …
I heard the whispering when I began dating. I felt the stares. I saw the gritted teeth behind forced smiles. My face flushed through the awkward pauses and the stammering of those brave enough to broach the presence of (gasp!) my new man. “I’m happy for you, but…isn’t it way too soon? You really should …
