THIS IS US —  Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) & Rebecca (Mandy Moore) centre with best friends Miguel & Shelly (Photo by: Ron Batzdorff/NBC)

I watched the whole season of the new show This Is Us…I was hooked after episode two. And it takes a lot to get me hooked these days.

One scene struck a chord with me. Jack and Rebecca are getting ready to meet their best friends for a dinner (a standing date) and Rebecca wasn’t feeling festive and wanted to stay home. Jack told her that they had to go because Miguel and Shelly had something they wanted to talk to them about. So, in the middle of their appetizer, when everyone had a drink in hand, Miguel made an announcement. “We’re getting divorced.”

“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.” – Oscar Wilde

Feeling pissed about Cupid this year?  It’s difficult after separation to feel inspired about a day dedicated to love when you feel your heart is broken.  But in order to mend your heart, you have to start loving yourself.

image source; collider film review. Will Ferrel in Everything Must Go

Letting go of our stuff is one of the steps to moving forward but how and when can we do this? That’s the tricky part and there isn’t one perfect answer. Each of us hold different attachments to our things, stuff. We all have various degrees of emotional attachment.  At the outset of divorce we can be a little too hasty in discarding our old life. Until some time passes, we don’t know what these items will mean to us. What memory will they evoke or what part of ourselves will they represent. if any? If you’re not sure right now, then keep them and let some time pass before revisiting their worth.

image source creative commons

Maybe while we were married we could afford to let a little money ‘go missing’ or be ‘stolen’ from our wallet but things change when we get divorced. If you’re a single parent, you’re likely on a budget or at the very least cognizant of where your pennies are going. Maybe you just want to tighten up your

I’m delighted to introduce to you my guest today, Liv of Live By Surprise. Lively Liv as I like to call her 🙂 If you’ve been anywhere on divorce support blogs and sites you’ll likely see her name. She’s full of energy and writing all over the place because everyone wants to know what she thinks…here she is now!

Do you hang on to those negative memories a little too long? Wishing they had been different. Maybe wishing you had been different—said something different? I do. I try not to but there I go…remembering stuff again. Sometimes these memories pop up at the weirdest times, lurking and waiting to own my mind once again.

It’s hard being a divorcee. We’re a ONE in a world of twos. It’s downright lonely. Eventually, we want to get our toes in the water and begin dating again. We go onto dating sites with hopes of love. It’s only natural. Next thing you know, we’re in a relationship again. It’s wonderful. It’s exciting and we feel like a teenager again. We’re getting a second chance!

source; Dreamstime

I’m very pleased to introduce to you Brad Micklin of The Micklin Law Group out of New Jersey, N.Y.  Brad generously agreed to answer my interview questions and you, dear readers will benefit from his family law wisdom.

Ryan Reynolds would make a dreamy handyman

Warning: this post is full of double meanings and suggestive scenes. Ladies, have you found your HANDYMAN yet? Every ‘single’ woman needs a HandyMan on her speed dial. Preferably, he’ll know how to use a variety of tools to fix your broken toilet OR your broken heart…”hey Baby, I’m your handy man…” As James Taylor crooned back in the day.