There are SO MANY (dire) consequences of divorce. I could write a book. Hmmm, maybe I will. But, one of the hardest things for any single dad or mom is re-entering the dating scene. That will be our topic this Thursday July 3 from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. PT/9:00 – 10:00 p.m. ET. Dave Taylor suggested this topic and is our special co-host this week!
When I began dating again, after my divorce, I had certain desired requirements for any women I might date. They were simple – she had to be breathing. No, they weren’t that simple because my life at the time was far from simple. Raising two traumatized young boys alone meant, or so I thought, that I should only date women who also were single parents. I had my boys almost 24/7 in the beginning and later 24/7 period, now for over a decade.
This Fathers Day, being recently remarried, I don’t have to face it wondering what to do and who will teach my boys to remember and respect me. But, in previous years, while I was encouraging them to make or buy Mother’s Day and birthday cards for their mother, who had abandoned them, there seemed to be no one to help them with the same task for me.
This is no feel-sorry-for-myself reflection, but a conundrum many single parents face when their birthdays or other holidays come about. I was vigilant in reminding them to remember their mother and her mother, not because she deserved anything from them, but because it taught them to respect parents, other relatives, and learn the right thing to do when they got older.
