“I’d like to pay for the car behind us,” says my son, Tommy. The woman collecting the toll smiles, shuffles the money once again and obliges his wish. Just moments before we vie for a space as we attempt to merge in line to pay the toll. Our leisurely car ride listening to music and…

I find a lot of doors closing for me. The truth is they have been closing for me for quite some time only I wouldn’t let them. I have done everything to stop it. I have put my foot in the door. I shove back. I bang on them. It’s hopeless. I need to finally…

I am the youngest of five children. I remember in grade school the days they would tell us to bring in a baby picture. We used to joke with our mom that she would just hand us any picture and tell us that she thought it was us. Now of course, I am exaggerating (slightly)…

My friends “Trixie” and “Loretta” are moving stuff around my house. One grabs a chair and scoots it towards my fireplace. The other grabs a lamp and places it on the piano. They are decorators who in the loving friendship of divorce have offered to give my home a makeover. Loretta scopes the room as…

I was listening to one of Father Hope’s sermons recently. “When things seem to be their darkest that’s when God is most at work,” he says. Divorce is certainly dark. As usual, his sermon fills me with hope. A negative time is turned into a positive. My perspective shifts. God has certainly been busy in…

I’ve always respected an individual’s choice to stay at home or work. After all, these are intensely personal decisions which are often shaped by our own life experiences. I am fortunate that I have never met a working woman who has judged me for my choice to stay at home. I am equally as fortunate…

“Why did you do it?” I am asked that question frequently. You may be surprised at the remarks that fly my way… “Lots of couples are unhappy,” “It’s better for the kids to stay married,” “Who do you know that truly has a happy marriage?” “Stay together for the kids and just live your own…

I am continually reminded that divorce is a grieving process. It the midst of living through it you recognize all of the stages of grief. The kids of divorce feel these stages as well. It’s important to recognize this. We all grieve differently and we can’t always lean on each other. This life change can…

It is completely unnatural to sort through our parents home once they leave us. It is counter intuitive to rip the puzzle pieces apart when we grow up needing them all to fit lovingly together. My brother and sisters and I tried to respectfully honor both our mom and our own memories. We traced the…

It has been said that divorce is like grief. I would agree. It is a loss and loss is felt especially during the holidays. I know that as I move forward that my boys are still acclimating to the changes in their home. A little over a week ago, my family came to my house…

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