Divorce, Second Marriages & Stepparenting

When I close my eyes, I imagine that it’s all a game of tug-of-war. I am the rope that each parent is so desperate to gain. They each pull without compromise, determined to win me over.

When my son was old enough to ask why I had divorced his dad, I had to be creative. He idolized his mostly absent and sometimes awesome father. I didn’t want to be the one to tell him...

“So does your son go the bathroom sitting down?” This question will forever top my list of “Things Not to Ask a Single Mother.”

I recall the time that I was between spouses and dating, I questioned how in the world I would find someone to really love my children...

There was jealousy. There was anger. There was even resentment and pain. But there was also love and support and encouragement and advice, not from two parents, but from four.

I always tell people, I made two very smart decisions in my life: 1) to get married, and 2) to get divorced...

Divorce often brings out the worst in two people that at one time may have felt deep feelings of love for one another. It's only human nature to want to find some outlet for those feelings of loss, disappointment, regret, or even failure that generally accompany divorce...

She sat back down to finish her homework and was seemingly on the road to recovery. But that is when the real tears began to fall and her body began to heave. I knew why instantly...

In my home, my children from my previous marriage live with us full time. I am sure that their father feels his loss quite vividly, especially during holiday times...

How can you tell your children that you do not have any pictures of their birth, brit milah, first birthday, upsherin, since your former spouse was in them and it would be too "weird" to keep them around in your new home?

These messages are what your children will depend on when they are feeling frightened, sad or insecure, as you and your children encounter and overcome the challenges of life after divorce...

Maya asked a few questions, peered into cupboards and bedrooms in her best social-worker manner, and then left. I was sure we passed the test . . .