This incredibly painful thing made it so clear that I divorced him — “You need to deal with things,” I say. “I’m fine,” says my husband. “You’re not fine,” I say. “You’re getting angry when you’re drinking.” He ignores me. “We don’t have real problems,” I say. “These aren’t real problems. Just deal with whatever you’re feeling so you stop upsetting all of…

Excuse me while I vent about love and marriage — I’m not sure who coined the oxymoron ‘Happily Married’ but I wasn’t. I tried to do the honorable and expected thing and cover it up. Only sadly, I don’t do unhappiness well. Eventually, I had to come clean. I had to share. I had to talk about it. It seemed…

But this is what made me cry like a baby — I’m walking my dogs this morning when tears fill my eyes. It’s been a month. I shouldn’t feel this sadness. I tell myself I’m being silly. I lost my home in a divorce. I lost 4,500 square feet of belongings. I lost a beach house and a rental property. …

I have always been motivated by love — I call myself a southern New Yorker much to the dismay of my true Nu Yawker buddies. I blame it on my native Brooklyn parents and a large Irish brood that makes The Big Apple home. I am also a declared Jersey girl despite the protests of my Sea Isle…

I shed tears at the contrast between them and the man I married. — I listen to a message on my phone. It’s year four of my divorce and I’m emotionally and physically exhausted. I dial my friend back. “Colleen,” he says. “I’m so glad you called me back. I didn’t know if you would.” “What’s up?” I say. “Listen,” he says. “A few…

But I was playing a role in a man’s life — one hard to recover from — I’ve just gotten home from the hospital with my first son. There are a dozen roses on the dining room table. Ten of the roses are red and two of them are yellow. “From the two men in your life,” the card reads. I’m completely taken aback. It’s the nicest…

We attract ourselves to the familiar — I remember sitting with my marriage counselor one day. I’d been in marital counseling for years at this point. I was partially joking with him but partially not. “It must be hard being you,” I say. “What do you mean?” he says. “Do you walk into a cocktail party and…

But it’s not uncommon and I’m wondering if I missed something. — I’m out with a bunch of girls. They’ve been divorced for a different span of time and are in various stages of post-divorce dating. One is looking for a meaningful relationship. One is done looking for a man at all. One isn’t quite sure what she’s looking for and is…

And how I got it back — When my youngest son was 8 years old we were in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on vacation. We were taking our boys to play putt-putt golf. But first I had to help him do his CCD homework. I’m a Catholic elementary school girl but I sent my boys to public…