Author Topic: Dealing with parents divorce  (Read 3455 times)

SimpleSpartan

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Dealing with parents divorce
« on: June 24, 2016, 01:48:16 AM »
Hi MMM, really taken in  the financial and ERE advice on this site and after stalking it for awhile I've found myself in need of some advice... Just found out my dad is filing for divorce. Both parents are handling it better than expected. (side note) I'm 18, will have college paid for by a college fund/scholarships and have two siblings married with kids at 28,30. I'm pretty shaken up and not quite sure what the future will hold... Really just worried about my mom, (my dad was the one that filed, since he's been struggling with depression)

If you've experienced this how did you handle it?
Any tips/guidance on what I should do?
"Logistically" how did you manage spending time with each parent?

Thanks guys

meerkat

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Re: Dealing with parents divorce
« Reply #1 on: June 24, 2016, 06:32:37 AM »
I'm sorry. My parents divorced when I was older (out of college, married) but it still sucked.

Don't feel like you have to be one parent's support network. My mom would frequently talk shit about my dad till I had to tell her that just because they were divorcing, it did not change the fact that he was my dad and would always be my dad. If she needed to vent about that, she had her own family members and friends to do that with. If she couldn't respect that, I would end the phone call. I did actually end up hanging up on her once, after that she didn't bring him up again for years. Your siblings should do the same thing, and lean on each other if you can.

You're going to college - as soon as you're able to, get in touch with the student mental health services. I found counseling to be very helpful because I felt like I couldn't see the forest for the trees and they helped cut through that to the actual issues. In your case, you're at a major transitional point in your life and this is rocking your foundation so I'd say it's even more important to seek counseling.

Do your parents have the living situation sorted out yet? That will affect how you figure out how to spend time with each parent. In my case, I had my own house so I ended up hosting a lot more and didn't go back to my home town for something like two years just because it was So Awkward (plus it saved me the drive, which I didn't mind since at the time I had less free time than they did). Usually we always did holidays with my mom's family, so the past few years we've driven down to stay with my dad and then gone from his house to my mom's family for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

I feel like I'm forgetting something, I'll come back and post if I think of it.

Good luck. This isn't easy.

Saving in Austin

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Re: Dealing with parents divorce
« Reply #2 on: June 24, 2016, 03:16:52 PM »
My parents separated when I was 15 and divorced when I was 17 (I am 55 now). It took me a long time to get over it. It was my dad's choice (another woman/stepmom) and I felt responsible for my mom and how her life was turning out. My best advice is not to take responsibility for your parent's decisions and karma. It really is not your fault and you probably can't fix it anyway.

It was painful for me when it happened. I'm the middle child of 3 boys. The older one took off and the younger one probably just accepted it better than I did. We lived with my mom when I was a junior in high school and then with my dad when I was a senior. We went to visit on weekends. It took me 25 years to really understand from an adult perspective why they divorced. I'm not sure there is a quick fix. Find some friends or people you can talk to and express your feelings.

In the long run, things worked out better financially for my mom more than my dad. He died 6 years ago but he married a big spender, lived a non-mustachian life in LA and didn't have much money left at the end to show for it even though he had a much higher income. My mom is a saver and has more money now than ever at age 76.

Remember, if you are like most, life is a marathon and not a sprint.
« Last Edit: June 24, 2016, 05:24:56 PM by Saving in Austin »

Cassie

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Re: Dealing with parents divorce
« Reply #3 on: June 24, 2016, 03:44:05 PM »
I divorced my husband when my 3 boys were 24, 21 and 18. WE never talked bad about the other and got together for big occasions such as college graduations, weddings, etc. They live in another state and come to visit and we always host them in our home. If it is done right the kids will suffer less. My kids were not happy about it but accepted it. My youngest said what made it bearable was that none of our family events were ruined. We just carried on as usual. We both remarried and the new spouses knew this is what was expected and accepted it.  Hugs:))

Choices

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Re: Dealing with parents divorce
« Reply #4 on: June 24, 2016, 04:39:17 PM »
Sorry that you're going through this.

Hopefully your parents will act like adults and not bash each other in your presence or otherwise drag you into it. As you're 18 and the youngest and headed to college, this might have been their plan for a while and they were waiting for you to finish high school so it wouldn't be so hard on you. They might make it through much better than you expect--let's hope so!

There's not much you have to do now besides what you have been doing. Be kind and loving to both of them, take care of yourself, do well in school. Your siblings should be able to help you figure out what to do for the holidays. Maybe one of you guys will host rather than have a family gathering at your mom's or dad's. It will be on neutral turf and that often helps people behave better.

mistershankly

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Re: Dealing with parents divorce
« Reply #5 on: June 26, 2016, 03:09:23 PM »
Some great advice and insight here.  My parents divorced when I was 23 and every resource I looked into for help (books, etc) was aimed at the effect of divorce on young children... nothing about "adult kids".  The impact of divorce is different for adult kids in some ways as well as being very much like the impact on children.  After all, you are still the children of your parents.  There is a book called A Grief Out of Season that addresses your situation in many ways.  See if you can get a hold of it and read...

https://www.amazon.com/Grief-Out-Season-Parents-Divorce/dp/0316363510

Above all, be kind with yourself and do not for a moment be coerced into thinking that you have any responsibility for the failed marriage and ESPECIALLY any responsibility for participating in your parents' reconciliation of this event after the divorce.  If either one of your parents begins to cross boundaries and start leaning on you to be the messenger to the other one, this should be a red flag to you to define your boundaries for your own emotional self-preservation.  Here is a great book on the concept of Emotional Incest that happens in dysfunctional families either pre-divorce or post-divorce...

https://www.amazon.com/Silently-Seduced-Parents-Children-Partners/dp/0757315879

You might also want to consider meeting with a therapist to have a refuge to sort out your feelings and thoughts without the influence of your parents who are going through their own confusion and change.

Good luck to you and feel free to come back to this thread if you need more support and guidance.

 

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