Eight months after my breakup, my home is still a work in progress. So am I.
A woman reflects on her life transition after a long-term marriage ends, focusing on the process of rebuilding her home and identity. She discusses the emotional and practical challenges of moving from a shared life to single parenthood.
Why it matters
It highlights the personal and societal challenges of divorce and the process of redefining one's life in mid-adulthood.
Courtesy of the author My husband and I separated after spending half our lives together. I moved into a nearly empty home with our three young children. Decorating the space helped me reconnect with who I was outside my marriage. It was getting late, and the movers still hadn't arrived with the beds or the crib, so I tucked my three kids (5, 2, and 11 months) into bed on an air mattress on the floor of an otherwise empty bedroom. I wanted to tell the kids that, once everything was set up, their room wouldn't look so bland. But the truth was, even with all of our belongings moved in, we'd only have the essentials. I'd sold a lot of furniture and decor ahead of the move (both to get some extra cash and make the moving process less strenuous).
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