Because there are so many levels of love, it can be difficult to define what love is. When someone says, “I love you,” how do you know what that really means? The first time someone tells you “I love you,” it probably means they are attracted to you. They feel that excitement in their belly […]
Today is Veterans Day and I had trouble thinking of anything else to write about other than the men and women of our military whom I greatly respect. Before my son, Kyle, joined the Army National Guard in 2003, I took our military for granted. I was born in 1960, and so was a young […]
“No one ever broke your heart; they broke your expectations.” This quote from Kyle Cease is a significant quote for me because I was sure I had been broken-hearted several times in my life. What was he saying, that no one ever broke my heart? Surely, that couldn’t be true. However, I had recently experienced […]
There are some major misconceptions in the area of couple relationships. People often think when two people commit to an exclusive relationship, “Two become one.” This is a nice, romantic sentiment, but I can’t figure out how it happens. Two people are still two individual people attempting to make a healthy, loving relationship and life […]
In my job, people have asked me when the right time is to leave a relationship. Of course, I never advise someone to stay in a relationship or leave it, but situations arise that may lead you to consider leaving and talking to a professional can help you reason it out for yourself. First, if […]
It seems the two most difficult jobs in life are creating successful relationships with our significant others and parenting children, yet neither come with any formal training. It’s as if people believe that we are born with an inherent ability to do these two things. Yet, look around us. In the US, the divorce rate […]
Starting over after the loss of a loved one is a monumental task that can feel overwhelming at times. Whether there has been a death, a divorce, or a separation from a friend, rebuilding your life is usually is necessary. Shock and denial are normally initial reactions after a loss, particularly if there was no […]
If you and your spouse have decided to divorce, for your children’s sake, you must cooperatively parent them through your divorce as a team. Even if it seems like one day your spouse announced to you he or she wants a divorce, you can be certain your spouse considered it for a long time. Divorce is rarely an easy snap decision, especially when kids are involved.
The ideal divorce is done respectfully, without malice and blame. Throughout the transition, the parents support each other and work together to co-parent their children. If step-parents are introduced, everyone works together to create a unified parenting team. Does this sound like a fantasy to you? Is this not the way your divorce is going? Are your children suffering because your ex has left them in the divorce too? This is not ideal, but there are still things you can do to help your children through this.
Just as in death and dying, there are emotional stages people go through during a divorce. Mostly these stages pertain to the person who didn’t initiate the divorce, although some of them are applicable even if you did initiated it. Depending upon each individual, a person can skip stages, get stuck in some, or move on only to revisit previous stages. These stages do not represent a neat and clean progression through divorce but it will give you an idea where you are and where you want to get to so you can be happy again.
