This date will be tinged with sadness for a long time. It’s not an overwhelming sadness but an acknowledgement of a great loss. For thirty years this was the day that my parents celebrated their wedding anniversary. It was a day of great joy and even pride for me and my brothers. We were well aware of the uniqueness of an intact family and the bond we all held. This abruptly changed four years ago when Dad left Mom.
Divorce was (and is) never a word we thought would describe our family. I am still surprised at times because it continues to be surreal. Because I was an adult when the divorce happened I am faced with its reality very differently than a child.
I remember at strange (and not so strange) moments: planning holiday travel and realizing it’s not so simple anymore, needing to fix something on my car and not having Dad as the first phone call, imagining a wedding day and not knowing the dynamics of that day anymore … the list goes on. I rarely have an emotional “breakdown” … just moments of sadness and a new realization of loss.
Mom has remarried a wonderful man named Michael. He has great children and our family has grown bigger. I don’t always know how to navigate the new relationships … not because of “want to” but because distance and age make it all so much slower.
I have much to be thankful for. I have some to be sad about. I am grateful for friends and family that have been the hands and feet of Christ over the last several years. I can’t say I accept it well … it’s much more fun for me to give. But I am learning to receive. To rest in the care of others.
Thank you to my friends.
Thank you to my family.
I love you all!
