D-I-V-O-R-C-E

Tammy Wynette's song was released in 1968 and I guess I must have been about the same age as "Little J-O-E." I was living in Texas with my mom and sister and my dad was living in Virginia. I have very few memories of my life before divorce was a part of it. Growing up, I remember going outside as the stars started to appear and wishing on the first star that my parents would get back together. And I remember the pain of leaving my friends to go to Maryland for the summer to stay with my dad and his parents and wondering if they would all forget me while I was gone. As an adult, I look back and I know my parents did their very best to make our lives somewhat normal. And I suspect the divorce was less a mistake than the marriage, but it is hard to regret something that brought you life! Anyway, my life has been formed and shaped--for better or worse--by the reality of divorce. So I couldn't help but pick up a copy of Newsweek with its article about the Class of '82 and the effect divorce had on their life (The Divorce Generation Grows Up) and then later in the week to find this blog about divorce and forgiveness.