I’m currently obsessed with the show “Parenthood.” After my work day is done and my kids are in bed, I binge on Netflix as I join the Braverman family in all their adventures in parenting. I watch as they celebrate life’s joyous moments, mourn life’s tragedies, help each other with problems big and small and stand by each other unconditionally.
And with every episode I watch, every theme song I sing along to, I have the same thought, “I wish I had that.”
I love my family. I have the best family in the world. And while we’re able to do all that celebrating, mourning, helping and supporting, it’s usually over the phone. Unlike the Bravermans who live a stone’s throw away from each other, my family is spread out all over the country. I can’t drop the kids off at my parents’ house when I attempt to have a social life. My mother can’t swing by with chicken soup when I’m sick. My kids can’t have sleepovers with their cousins. I can’t go over to my brother’s house with a bottle of wine. My closest family is a 14-hour drive away. We are not the Bravermans.
I left home when I was 18 to go to college. I never moved back. Always proud of my independence, I never doubted that I would succeed on my own. I knew my parents would support me and welcome me home with open arms if I ever needed a soft place to land, but in the last 20 years I never needed it.
Until now.
I didn’t expect divorce and single motherhood to be easy. But after being a military spouse, I was already used to doing most things on my own, and I figured it wouldn’t be much different. Throughout our separation and for the first several months after the divorce, my ex and I maintained a relatively consistent custody schedule that the kids came to view as normal. If emergencies came up, such as our dog almost dying, my ex was around to take the kids so I could nurse the dog back to health. If he had scheduling issues for work, I kept the kids on a weekend that usually would have been his. I may not have had family nearby to help, but I wasn’t doing everything on my own.
That all changed 4 months ago when my ex moved to Hawaii.
Since he left, I am solely responsible for my children. Sometimes I try to view this as a deployment. I’ve done this before, right? But this is not a deployment. He’s gone for 3 years, and there’s no guarantee he’ll come back to this area once it’s time for new orders.
The second question most people asked me when I announced my divorce (after “What happened?”), was, “Are you moving closer to family?” But it wasn’t until the past few months that I started seriously considering moving back home. Between the stress of single parenting, the appeal of my children being closer to both sets of grandparents and my parents’ ability to help me, recent health issues, the fact that my job travels with me and my old military spouse mentality nagging me that it’s time for a change of scenery, signs are pointing me in that direction. Throw in the added plus that the high school reunion I attended over the summer reminded me that I would already have an established circle of friends once I got there, the pro side of the debate is pretty hard to beat.
But my fiercely independent side can’t help but view it as a sign of defeat. I worked really hard to create a new life for myself. I moved to an apartment complex a year ago that I chose primarily because it’s in the best school district in the city (and, of course, it doesn’t hurt that it’s in walking distance of the beach). My kids don’t want to move again, and now that I’m not a military spouse and the Navy is no longer forcing us to move, I feel fortunate that my kids can say they’ve lived in the same city for a whopping 6 years. In fact, my daughter, who was only 10 months old when we moved here from Japan, doesn’t remember living anywhere else. Why would I uproot them again? Why would I uproot myself again?
It’s a tough call.
I have days when I’m ready to call a moving company and tell my parents to clear out my old bedroom. And I have days when everything falls into place and I can’t imagine leaving a city I’ve grown to consider the closest thing to home since I left home 20 years ago.
Right now those days seem to balance each other out. So I guess I’ll just continue to take life day by day, lean on my local friends for support and appreciate the times when my parents visit me and I visit them.
And maybe live vicariously through the Bravermans.
As one of the locals, lean on us whenever you need to!
NAVY – Its not just a job, its an adventure.
Sometimes life is a job, not just an adventure.
We do the work we have to do, accept our responsibility to others and keep going.
As Churchill said "When going through hell, keep going."
Which ever path you take, I wish you luck and much success.
BPinVA
As a man, I hope I don't interrupt the spirit of the conversation by commenting.
I have a sister who went through a very messy (and dangerous) divorce almost 20 years ago now. Once the divorce finalized – three years after the process started and countless phone calls and visits – she was ready to leave. That was all the prompting we needed. Our entire family literally came from all corners of the country to bring her and her then 5 year old daughter from Myrtle Beach (where she lived) to the DC metro area in one weekend.
Even though she was ready to go. She was incredibly apprehensive. Her divorce was brutal. It changed her. She's not the type to admit this sort of thing, but I truly believe the move saved her life and her daughter's.
They both lived with my sister's family for a year and a half. Allowed her to get her feet on the ground and to start over. Before moving, her daughter struggled. She was isolated from any family besides her mother (her father was abusive and absent). She had limited resources at school. After the move, she thrived. She became very very close to all of us. She was also exposed to better educational resources and discovered a gift for mathematics. She excelled and is now studying bio-engineering at Penn. My sister, who is a tough, vocal, strong-willed woman, found joy again and comfort in our family. She even remarried (eventually) to a very decent, grounded man.
I guess what I'm saying is, I can understand how difficult a decision it can be. If it helps, keep leaning on your family. It sounds like they will always be there for you as we were for my sister. You're candor and perspective here is already an inspiration to a lot of people. Continue to trust your gut. Take all the time you need. Find a solution that works for you.
And, it goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway, if you ever want a spa day, night off or whatever, please don't hesitate to reach out to my wife and I. FWIW.
Follow your heart and the ebbs and flows. I was devistated after my separation leading to divorce. It lead me to friends and family for support, however family was a "way out". I sold my home and moved half way across the country only to find that I gave up more than I gained. Home is where your heart is and your family will always be family. You are independent and that's what makes you, you.
I love that show "parenthood" ?
I'm struggling with the same roller coaster of emotions here. Trying to make the best decision of my life. I moved to Oregon, lived here 3 years and left to Texas for another 3 and recently moved back 9 moths ago. My husband and I got separated after 16 yrs of marriage. I was at stay home mom for all that time. I have 3 kids under the age of 12. My youngest one is 8 months old. My husband and I decided that we wanted to move away from the family to learn to rely on each other and raised our kids in a different upbringing than what we both had. Now we got separated 9 moths ago heading to a divorce here pretty soon. I can't decide what's best for my children. When we started having children my ex husband and I always wanted to move back so the kids could bond with their family and we tried taking the kids on bdays and holidays. Now I find myself alone with my kids. I personally don't want to move back home because I feel that there's nothing there for me. When I see my children missing their grandparents and wanting to be closer to them,my heart breaks and I want to just go back "Home".. I don't count on my ex husband his a truck driver and he doesn't really care what we need. I feel like a widow at times. I live with my friend who was very kind to have me and my children until I can get on my feet. I don't know what or how to sort out this… any help would be appreciated.
Thanks for this great post, i find it very interesting and very well thought out and put together. I look forward to reading your work in the future. A1Pioneer.com