Top 5 things I had completely wrong when getting Divorced

There are a lot of thing I was told or  believe when I was going into my Separation/Divorce that over time you realised were completely wrong.


1. I will bounce back quick Financially
Oh, I was so wrong about this, 7 years past and I am still not recovered fully, and I am definitely no where near what I would have been if I made a better choice when I got married. It isn't just the initial cost of separation and divorce, it is the on going expenses of being a single parent that make catching up so very hard.

2. Kids will adapt Quickly
Again...wrong.  It takes time to heal. It can't be rushed no matter how hard I tired.  Each kids is an individual and there are always set backs along the way.


3. Kids will love who ever I love right away
Nope, they won't.  This is a strange coming into their lives and taking time with there parent away from them.  The new person has views and habits the kids are not use to and generally are not willing to adapt to the new person quickly.

3. Life will be the same
Just the opposite. Nothing will be the same, I am not saying it is all bad, just everything will be different.

4. I will be happy right away.
There is initial happiness and excitement, then relativity kicks in, extra work, extra cost, time without kids.  It does get better, but again, it takes longer then you think it will.

What is my purpose

Hello

The the kids continue to grow and get more mature. Other then needing money they are independent.

After almost 2 decades of taking care of them it is like I have no purpose.  I still have to work but when I get home what was the usual drive them around or help them with something it is all gone.  I guess this is the part of life where you have to find a hobby to keep busy and not go nuts.

My big issue is that I get home, have dinner then sit on the couch and have a couple beers.  I have gotten very lazy.  I use to complain there was to much to do and the kids constantly needed somethings.....now I have the complete opposite problem.  I have to much time on my hands.

I am glad they are independent and growing up, it would be worse if they still need me completely, but I really need a hobby now and I don't think beer on the couch qualifies as a hobby.

Love the child you have

Hello

This is a little off topic but it was divorce and remarriage that brought me to a point where I am starting to come to grips with that I need to Love the Children I have and not the ones I think they should be.

As children grow they change, and as they change they become their own person, their own personalities with their own interests.  As this happens those evolving personalities will go their own directions and not necessarily be the interest you as a parent have.

I struggled and was frustrated because I kept saying things like.... They should be, why don't they.... When will they.  I wanted them to do things the way I did, like the things I liked, get excited about things I got excited about.  In most cases they didn't, not because they were bad kids, they were just their own kids, own interests.

My frustration grew and grew....why are they not doing and liking what I like.  Finally I have come to grips with that fact they are not little versions of me.  They are unique, they are not me, and that was hard to come to grips with.

I look at my life, I have done some good things and made some bad mistakes, I have been constantly evolving, I was shy as a child and young adult then broke out of it.  my children are still evolving and being like me, and liking what I like does not guaranty them success, so why do i keep pushing my likes on them?

Family events become work.

Hello All

Dealing with events that involve all members of the family, including new spouses can be tricky, complicated and just more work.  This is especially amplified when not everyone gets along.

Lets face it, family events are stressful enough as it is, throw in the extra dimension of people who may not get along and things go from bad to worse. When it is things like moving a Son or Daughter to or from school everyone wants to be involved, leaving someone out will caused bruised feelings. Everyone in tight quarters while packing and unpacking creates a situation just waiting for someone to say something inappropriate of for something to get taken the wrong way and then things go down hill quickly.

The solution(and it ain't a magic bullet), is for the adults to be just that ....Adults.  Remembering that we are there for the kids, that arguments among the adults just makes the kids uncomfortable and no good can come from it.  No kid, no matter their ages wants anything to do with their parents or step parents fighting. when fragmented families get together kids can sense the tension immediately, they know the parents don't want to be in the same room, if they did, they would still be together.

Like I said, the only way to get through this is to be an adult, be a good example to your kids. Take the pressure off them by behaving and being polite.  Be a good example to them of putting someone else needs ahead of your own feelings.

When everything is done you can go home and vent frustration in a productive way.

everyone profits except the poor people who are involved

It can never be understated the financial devastation(and that is not too strong a word) that divorce causes.  There are so many people/business that profit from a family splitting up, it seems everyone profits except the poor people who are involved in the situation and suffering the worst.

When  I have had this discussion before the first thing people jump on is the lawyers.  I have no issues with the job they do, they are there to insure that everything is done civilly and that no one gets taken advantage of.  So, this is article is not to beat up on lawyers.  I don’t hate them, and I don’t love them, they do their jobs as required.  The less I see of them the better and it is for me and my pocket book.  If your spend thousands of dollars on a divorce lawyer that is not their fault, that is yours.

As the family is dissolved the expenses go up and suddenly you need two of everything.  A family together has 1 home phone, 1 cable bill, 1 electric bill, 1 heating bill, has 1 bank account, 1 home insurance policy, pays 1 property tax bill. The one or two incomes coming into the one house pays for all this.

When a family splits up usually the one home is sold and two homes are bought.  Now the income pool is still exactly the same, but it is now paying for 2 home phone, 2 cable bill, 2 electric bill, 2 heating bill, pays fees for 2 bank account, 2 home insurance policy, pays 2 property tax bills, 2 mortgages, furniture for 2 houses…….. see where I am going for this?

So many companies that would normally sell their goods/services to one family now get to sell to two.  Parents feed into this as well because I know when I started out on my own that if they kids had something at Mom’s I had to have it at my place.

So the expenses have doubled, the income has not. And this is something that unless the Lotto God’s smile on you that you will never recover from.

How I have Changed in 6 years

Hello All

It is amazing how looking back how much I have changed over the past 6 years, when I was in the middle of it I didn't realise what was going on, or that it was even happening. I wish I could take credit for it being part of my grand plan but a lot of it was just dumb luck.

Here are 4 different situation that happen and how my reaction has changed.


Situation 1: Kids were not coming over for the weekend.

Before, OMG, what did I do wrong, don't they love me any more, They have to come over it is my weekend. What did my X tell them.

Now, Glad they are having fun and busy doing something that interest them, I know they still love me, it has nothing to do with the X.

Situation 2: Kids having Fun with the X

Before, I have to think of a way to be more fun then her, why don't they have fun with me, they have forgotten about me and don't love me any more.

Now, Glad they are having a good time with their Mom.

Situation 3: Did hear from the Kids for a few days

Before, they don't want to talk to me anymore, they don't love me, what did my X say to them to cause this, what have I done wrong?

Now, Glad they have their won lives and interests to keep them busy and they have friends to hang out with.

Situation 4: Home alone

Before, I am so lonely, what have I done to deserve this?

Now, Time to clean the house, walk the dogs and then relax and have a Beer.


My have things changed.

How do you explain to your kids that it would have been worse if we stayed together

Hello

I can talk fairly easily to my X now, as long as we avoid talking about the our personal past together and avoid discuss that involves laying blame for who did what.  It is done, and no amount of arguing will change anything or make any difference other then raising both our blood pressures.

Being single parents does make aspects of life more difficult, financially it is harder and there is more demands on your time when you are with the kids when they are younger.

But, both my X and I agree that if we stayed together things would have been way worse. We are both happy now, enjoy life with and without the kids, we both struggled for quite a while adjusting to not having the kids around.  Now we are both okay.  We are both confident that if we stayed together the atmosphere in the house would be intolerable. I am confident that the fights would be none stop and both of us would have been tense all the time.

But how do you explain to the kids.  Kids will believe that everything would have been great if my parents stayed together. Part of that is true, I believe a 2 parent family is better IF and only IF the parents get along.  If they can't it is worse, I believe way worse.

I have tried very hard through this entire adventure to divorce to never bad mouth the kids Mother. I think that has given the kids the impression that everything was good between me and my X.

How do I explain to them that it would have been terrible if the two of us were under the same roof.