Seven Years
This last weekend marked the 7th anniversary of my move out of the marital house and into my own house. We didn't officially get divorced until over a year later, but for most purposes, last weekend marked the 7th anniversary of my divorce... the end of my 7th year of raising four sons on my own. It's very scary how fast time flies.
I look back on what I've accomplished in the last seven years, and groan because outwardly it sure isn't very much. No book published. The house still needs massive work. I'm in just as much debt now as I was then, if not more so. No outward professional success... no outward much of anything...
Until you look at my kids. Damn! do they make me proud! :-) Sure they're boys, sure they're young, and sure they drive me absolutely crazy. But compared to the run-of-the-mill kids their age... damn! I did good! :-) And, no, I'm not going to take all the credit... they did good, and their father did good.
So, even though there doesn't outwardly seem to be much to show for the last seven years... every time I look at my boys I know I made the rights choices, both with the divorce and with my decision to not go back to work. The choice to not go back to work took a huge toll on my bank accounts, my retirement accounts, and my credit rating, but it allowed me to be home everyday when they got home from school... and that was absolutely positively the right choice to make.
Seven years behind me, with four great kids to show for it. It'll be really interesting to see what the next seven years brings! :-)
