Tuesday, September 10, 2013

I Don't Wanna


Your children did not ask you to divorce.  They did not cause the divorce.  They don't want it.  They are.....children.  I know - shocking.  Children will always want you and your spouse to be married.  They always want to have their family intact.  If you had your druthers, you would want that too.  The things that make you either no longer love your spouse or no longer be able to live with your spouse are generally (and there are exceptions) not things that make your children not want to live with their other parent.  For your children, the separation is an unwelcome shock.  They do not have the life experience to deal with the emotions and the changes that divorce brings.  That means that it takes them longer to get used to their divided family and the permanence of the situation.  You may have moved on 3 or 6 months after you separated, but your children have not.  They need time, and they need you to understand that.  Sure, to you looking at a new home is exciting and represents a new beginning; to your children it represents confirmation that their lives will never be the same.  Most parents are aghast if you ask them to nest in the marital home, where the parents and not the children rotate in and out of residence, for the next 10-15 years. Yet, that is exactly what they ask their children to do, and to be happy and excited about it.  They aren't; and they will never be.  Resigned to it, used to it?  Yes.  Happy about it? No.  Understand that and slow down, even if it inconveniences you; your children will thank you for it.  Here in the Trenches.

No comments:

Post a Comment