How I learned to stand on my own two feet after getting divorced
Written in 2013
I don’t like being divorced. Much of the time, I feel like an outsider in the land of the happily married families. I am the 3rd wheel at the cocktail party, the mom who is not taking her kids on a glitzy Spring Break trip, and the woman who is trying desperately to dodge the question of ‘hey, Lauren, what are you doing for New Year’s Eve?’
That being said, divorce has been one of the best things that has ever happened to me. It has made me a much stronger person and I’m grateful for the things that I’ve learned. I’m coming up on the 4 year anniversary (divorce-sary?) of my divorce and I decided that I would reflect on what I’ve learned during my journey thus far.
This is what I’ve learned in the 4 years since I got divorced.
My gut instinct about people is generally right.
Dating sucks.
The more that dating sucks, however, the funnier the stories are for your friends.
Bravo has some damn good television programming.
You need to take the initiative to meet new people in order to build a social network.
You need to tolerate a fair amount of social rejection in the process of reaching out to new people. It comes with the territory.
The 2 things that made me happy before I got married were the same 2 things that made me happy when I got divorced. These 2 things are exercising and Howard Stern (I never claimed to be politically correct).
I didn’t know myself very well when I got married, and I tried to be someone that I wasn’t in order to fulfill the vision of what I thought a wife/mother ‘should’ be.
I’ve learned that I need to take responsibility for my own happiness.
Through the bittersweet experience of divorce, I learned that I am capable and strong.
Divorce is never easy, especially when there are children involved. That said, getting divorced taught me to take control of my own life. And for that, I’m grateful.