Divorce

Whether it be adoption, a custody dispute, property settlement, or a divorce, family court is normally a headache for anyone involved. I believe a big part of this headache is due to the unrealistic expectations people have going into it. Here are some of those unrealistic expectations that can be easily cleared up. It’s nothing like movies and tv portray it. Contrary to how Hollywood portrays it, you typically don’t get a climactic moment in court to tell your side of the story. In addition to this, family law cases rarely go to trial, so you’re not convincing a jury of anything. In fact, chances are, you likely won’t get to tell your story to anyone other than your lawyer. Family court...

My best friend Katelyn and I have been discussing Twilight for a couple months now. Twilight was THE teenage romance series, while we were in middle school and high school. It is also a perfect example of emotional abuse, which, by the way, sets a great stage for physical abuse. Wind Goodfriend Ph.D. does a great job of naming a few of the thousands of examples of abuse Edward displays: He stalks Bella He encourages Bella to have as little interaction as possible from anyone outside his family He preys on her low self esteem He damages her vehicle so she can’t get away Before you go on assuming he was doing this to protect Bella, I just want to point...

I’ve always been the type of person that had absolutely no idea what to do or say when a loved one was hurting. I’ve always felt absolutely useless in these situations and as if I needed to step aside and let an adult handle it. Here are some things that stuck with me during a time I needed help: Don’t try to fill the silence. My best friend once said, “There’s not anything you can say to make it better, but there’s a lot you can say to make it worse.” Just let her be sad, hurt, angry, etc. It’s kind of selfish to fill silence just because you’re uncomfortable anyway, right? Buy a houseplant. Even if a mom thinks she has...

Being raised with divorced parents, I never wanted my own child to go through the same thing. No one really wants it for their child, or for themselves. But life happens, and we make decisions that affect our circumstances. So here we are. My daughter, who is now 10 years old, has no memory of her dad and me being together. She sees photos, but he and I living apart is all she has ever really known. Since our divorce nine years ago, my ex and I have done our best to ensure our daughter is taken care of. I separated from the military two years after our divorce and moved six hours away from my ex with our daughter....

When Your Home Is a Battleground. When your home is a battleground, you pull in the driveway in the evening and it doesn’t feel like the end of the day. It feels like the day is just getting started. You have a plan in mind for how the night will go. What needs to get done and what you want to get done. You said your mantras and prayed your prayers. You listened to your podcasts. You convince yourself you can keep it all together tonight, no matter what gets thrown your way. When your home is a battleground there’s territory claimed. The kitchen is yours’s. The front porch is his. There are unspoken agreements. He gets the bathroom early evening; you...