Thank you for your on going support to us newbies. Hugs

Thanks for the post , I got the email too but hadn't read it yet. Happy Holidays!!!

Thanks, CGK. Vikki is a great help.

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to you and all.

love and hugs
kamary

Merry Christmas and a very happy healthy new year to you and everyone.
I read the article and I had to laugh when she wrote " unless you live off the grid, in a cabin". ..ha ha. I've been saying all along that i i want togo live in a cabin . so, maybe I did have the right idea..…?lol

Bob

Thanks CGK - I love Vickki!

LOL Bob, I thought of you when I read that bit.

love and hugs and Merry Christmas
kamary

I think there's some great advice for newly separated/divorced. Not so much for the years later struggles...which still occur for me. It's just different from what she describes here
. Her "Runaway" book was super helpful a few years back for me - you are lucky to have her for a friend!

Iammine, are you ok? For some reason, this year is a struggle for me too. I guess there'll always be 'those days' when we wonder what happened and how did we get here.

love and hugs
kamary

That article made great sense, I remember in the early days I went to a get together at old friends house that we used to socialize with for years and I had to do just that, duck out early, I found myself completely overwhelmed seeing all our old "couple" friends. Now as almost 2 years has passed I'm much better, been there a couple times with my daughter and had a great time. But man those early days were just such an adjustment..! Glad that's over :)

kamary, Isn't that funny. So my idea of going to live in a cabin ,in the woods was " possibly" right all along. Seeeeeee, everyone thought that I was loosing it.....ha ha.
To the new people here.... God bless you ....Know this : nothing last forever and the hurt feelings that you have now will pass. Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday and may the new year bring you peace .
Bob

I would love to hibernate during the holiday season. Just me, my cats and nature. Maybe next year, I will rent a cottage and relax. Bob, you are right nothing lasts forever. Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday and may the new year bring us all the peace of the soul and mind.

Great article, but, like iammine, years later there are still struggles at Christmas. Memories of Christmases past come flooding back...so much has changed...

Hugs to those of you who are in the early stages. I promise you will survive this and come out stronger for it.
Merry Christmas to you all and God bless!

HUGSS
MJ

I am almost 9 years divorced (and 3 years out of my post-divorce relationship) yet at times (like Christmas) the pleasant memories come flooding back. While I have made lots of plans to spend time with good friends over the holiday season, unless I have a frontal lobotomy, the memories remain. Sometimes it's just hard to deal with because our lives have all been changed so drastically. It's what we DO with those memories that make a difference. I just let them come into my head, feel whatever I feel, and then do my best to let them go. I know that surrounding myself with people who genuinely CARE about me is a huge help!

Vikki's article is a good reminder of what we can do to help ourselves through this time of year.

This is my 3rd holiday post separation. Year 1 - holiday party was brutal and I left early and cried all the way home. I faced the same party the next year and had a wonderul time, playing charades, etc... this year, my 20 year old daughter suprised me by volunteering to come with me. It was the best yet. (This group of friends is a hoot no matter what age you are!) I was so pleased to see her interact with my friends on an adult level. so I have seen improvement over time. And that first year you are so raw, that every sight you see, every couple you see is a painful reminder of what you have lost.

Good article.

Thanks for the article Kathi. Luckily, I get to keep most of the traditions with my family, we're just missing my wasband and his mom. And I do miss them this time of year, and not just because he's a star pie baker! We had fun during the holidays, games and jokes and stories.
Hope the holidays bring you joy and peace. Merry Christmas!