Divorce Information

Divorce Makes Us Stronger


My friends call me the "Divorce Poster Child".

At the age of 20 I was married, and by 22 I had our first child. My husband was away at work every weekday, so it was just myself and the baby, from seven in the morning, until five thirty in the evening, every weekday. Eventually, my husband and I found ourselves with three children, and we were now both working in the same industry. We worked for his company, and he was still away at work every day, while I managed to work from home while taking care of the house and the kids.

We worked apart for all of our marriage, and we got to the point where, when we were together, we had very little to talk about besides the kids, and work. Eventually, there was even less to talk about, because it would seem that my ex-husband to be, was getting more and more distant. I sensed the distance, sat him down and said, "If you're feeling like you want to be a single man, don't go behind my back and sneak around because you want to be with someone else. Don't make me do all of the detective work that I see those poor women on T.V. having to do before finding out that their husbands are cheating on them. If that's what you want, then go. Let's cut our losses now, and do it amicably." To which he replied, "I would NEVER do that! I don't want to be single. I love you guys. What would make you say that??"

Apparently, at about that time, my soon to be ex-husband was slowly developing younger woman syndrome, and eventually decided that he would rather be a single man. So, to make a very long story, somewhat shorter, I wasn't about to leave the home that I raised my children in, so he left (That's the Coles' notes version.)

We've been divorced for four and a half years now. I went through many phases. The first was definitely blinding anger, followed closely (actually overlapped) by betrayal, which came before overwhelming sadness and feelings of failure, which were replaced by apprehension. Apprehension stepped aside to welcome self-pity. Major self pity. Self-pity was quickly replaced by revenge. I went on a spending spree, maxxing out his credit card twice. Each stage came with its own set of ups and downs.

I've learned so many things about myself because of my divorce. I have acquaintances who are going through the same things right now, who ask me for advice, and it surprises me to hear them say that they're having the same feelings and thoughts that I had in the various stages of this journey. There were times when I thought that I was going insane. But we all go through these phases. I found that mine were therapeutic, and educational. I learned that I'm much stronger than I thought I was. I learned this when apprehension came to visit me. I learned that I have a lot more patience than I ever thought I could have. I learned that I CAN be the bigger person. I learned that as long as I take care of myself, my children do wonderfully. "The ex" is a regular visitor in our children's lives. We're not best friends, but I'm okay with that. We get along well enough, and once I grasped the lesson that what he did wasn't about me, my life improved dramatically. It was his mess. It was his mental and emotional mess. There was nothing wrong with me.

I'm happy with my life, and with who I am at the end of the divorce process. I'm running my own business, and for the first time in my life I'm in complete control of every aspect of my life. If I want to eat Frosted Flakes for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I will without having anyone berate me for it. If I want to spend an outrageous amount of money on a pair of amazing shoes, I will (Mr. Visa loves me).

My divorce actually made me stronger. It gave me the strength to be the person that I am supposed to be. All's wonderful in my world. I proudly bear the title "Divorce Poster Child". I think I just might put that on a tee shirt.

Debbie Burgin is a Vancouver handbag designer, and mother of 3, who started and runs the successful handbag line at http://www.debbieburgin.com as a result of her divorce.

  


MORE RESOURCES:

Welt Online

Cambodian couple saw house in half in divorce
The Associated Press - 3 hours ago
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A couple in rural Cambodia has terminated their 18-year marriage with a divorce settlement that entailed sawing in two the ...
Couple Break Up and Split Home Down the Middle..Literally ShortNews.com
all 178 news articles


E! Online

Christie Brinkley's Ex Addicted to the Press
FOXNews - 7 hours ago
In the Cook interview, the former star Hamptons architect vividly discusses his marriage to and divorce from Brinkley. He’s so self involved that he doesn’t ...
Brinkley to ex: Shield kids from `20/20' interview The Associated Press
Christie Brinkley's Divorce Fully Cooked E! Online
Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook Divorce Still Brings the Drama Film.com
AceShowbiz - ABC News
all 514 news articles


Sportsnet.ca

One thing's for certain: Timing couldn't be worse
San Diego Union Tribune, United States - 9 hours ago
Reports that the Padres' principal owner is prepared to sell up to 49 percent of his franchise as part of a divorce settlement coincide with the Home Team's ...
Padres downplay sale report The Associated Press
No decision on Moores` Padres sale National Post
John Moores selling the San Diego Padres as part of divorce settlement Gaslamp Ball
KUSI - San Diego Union Tribune
all 112 news articles


Estranged Couple Split House in Divorce, Literally
FOXNews - Oct 9, 2008
Forty-year-old Meuon Rima decided to circumvent his country’s expensive divorce court system by sawing down the middle of the stilted home he shared with ...
Husband cuts house in two The Press Association
all 40 news articles


Ex-Lawyer Convicted for Misleading Clients at ‘Divorce With ...
ABA Journal, IL - 7 hours ago
By Debra Cassens Weiss A disbarred Vermont lawyer who moved to Arizona and opened an office called “Divorce with Dignity” has been convicted of theft and ...
Bogus divorce attorney convicted of theft and fraud ABC15.com (KNXV-TV)
Man who posed as lawyer convicted of theft, fraud Arizona Republic
Man who got $300K as false divorce lawyer found guilty AZFamily
KPHO Phoenix - Phoenix New Times
all 14 news articles


The Associated Press

After divorce, Bill Murray looks for renewal
The Associated Press - 19 hours ago
But Murray said he identified anew with those characters — like the dour Herman Blume in "Rushmore" — when his wife of nearly 11 years filed for divorce in ...
"City Of Ember" Opens This Weekend eFluxMedia
all 405 news articles


Times Online

Splitsville: Cambodian couple saw home in half to avoid messy divorce
USA Today - Oct 9, 2008
... for nearly 40 years have split their home 50-50 — sawing it in half to avoid the country's complicated, expensive divorce laws, the BBC tells us. ...
Cambodian couple split house in half to avoid divorce court AFP
Splitting couple cuts home in half United Press International
Could Ronnie Wood live in a house like this? News of the World
CNN - National Post
all 54 news articles


Tyco, investors want NH judge to freeze assets
Boston Globe, United States - 5 hours ago
US District Judge Paul Barbadoro temporarily ordered the assets frozen on Monday after Tyco claimed Kozlowski may be using a divorce settlement to hide ...


We’ll sign rebel Lekota’s divorce papers — Malema
The Times, South Africa - 4 hours ago
Lekota said on Wednesday that he was ‘‘serving divorce papers’’ on the ANC. A clearly angry Malema said yesterday: ‘‘What would make him come back to the ...
A parting of ways - Lekota iAfrica.com
Lekota will walk alone, ANCYL warns Business Day
'Terror Lekota is a sore loser' Mail & Guardian Online
The Times
all 64 news articles


Divorce a lesson in money management
Toronto Star,  Canada - 13 hours ago
"The divorce taught me all kinds of things," says Kaegh, a former high school administrator. Though the couple had signed a pre-nuptial agreement, ...

divorce - Google News

Article List | Index | Site Map
All logos, trademarks and articles on this site are property and copyright of their respective owner(s).
The comments are property of their posters, all the rest is Copyright © 2006 CanadaSEEK.com - All Rights Reserved.