There are few guidelines for stepmothers and stepfathers about how to understand child development or to parent effectively, instantly. They jump into middle of a kid's development and try to make sense of it. Usually with little support.
Second semester Senior year brings out the worst and most complicated in all of us, parents and teens alike. Why? Our identities, roles and relationships suffer a seismic shift when a child leaves home.
In addition to the angst caused by the fact that my son was leaving home was this new twist: It was possibly the first time it seemed like he was the grown-up and I was the kid.
In divorcing, I signed up for a lifetime of phone calls from vacations I'm not on, of car doors closing as my boys leave, of never getting to celebrate Father's Day for my father or husband with them present. It's a lifetime of separations.
When you're three hours into a six-hour flight and the flight attendant randomly announces, "Everyone please put your seats to the upright position and your tray tables up", that can only mean one thing; you are landing.
Eating well can be challenging for the average, busy, multi-tasking person. But eating healthily in the days following a separation? Nearly impossible.
Once upon a time, I told my then-husband I wanted a divorce a few days after Thanksgiving. That first December was hard. This is what I've learned since then about the first post-split holiday season, and I offer it to you.
Much of the quality of our lives depends on how we react to what were aware of in life. Every moment we face the choice to either allow our negative emotions to distort how we treat others or let the free flow of love, goodness, and acceptance bathe others with spiritual blessings.
It is not uncommon for families to delay taking steps toward separation until after the holidays are over. For many, this can mean sadness, tension and worry that their children may be affected by the breakdown of the relationship.
I began to question if I had been truly honest about what really happened in our marriage. I had never asked myself the most important question of all: What role had I played in it not working out?
For many years after the divorce, I rented a house for one week before the high season so we could assemble to be together -- the children with each other, the children with Mom.
Setting aside any personal or family issues that come to mind for many when they think of divorce, ending a marriage has major financial implications....
Although we've been separated for two years, I still have a hard time facing the fact that I was cast out and replaced by another woman. It's like watching a movie in which someone else lives my life.
First the sun, then the rain.
Darkness fades away, light begins.
I have spent a ridiculous amount of time on this wedding song. I am revising and rev...