About Me
My credentials for being the author of this blog are: I’m divorced, I’m Catholic and I’m a mom.
However, here’s a bit more about me:
- currently in my early 50s
- the mother of four children
- a woman who has experienced the hell of separation and divorce (as have my children!)
- a woman who is now experiencing the “after divorce” challenges of single parenthood AND single womanhood
- Catholic!
That’s the short and to the point version of who I am..now for more details…
I’m a cradle Catholic who has never stopped practicing my faith (how did my parents manage THAT?!), however, I’ve definitely struggled with my beliefs – especially during my separation and divorce.
I tell you that I’ve never stopped practicing my faith only to let you know a bit more about myself…not to say, “I’m special because I’ve never lapsed.” I have indeed lapsed in my faith during my life and I continue to do so, but I pick myself up and brush myself off and try again each time that happens. I keep trying because my faith has always been a huge part of who I am (how did my parents DO that?!). It’s SO ingrained in me that even when I seriously questioned my faith, I still (outwardly) practiced it.
At that time, I had children for whom I was trying my best to be a good example (and those children are still with me and I’m still trying to be a good example) so I went through the motions for THEM. Just like the old adage, though, “Fake it until you can make it”…..my faith came back stronger than ever. And I’m thankful for that! Without my faith and the strength that comes from it, I honestly don’t know how I would have come through “hell” and the challenges that continue to be a part of my life as a result. Because of my faith, I can still say, with absolute conviction, “Life is good!”
And just a little bit more about me….I’m a Virtual Assistant. What’s that?! A career I love that has made it possible for me to work from home so I have the flexibility to be here when my children need me. For more info on Virtual Assistance, click on – AssistU.
7 Comments
August 11th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
I am glad to see your web site! Funny how God is working because I started my web site about the same time as you started your blog. As a matter of fact, I was going to register divorcedcatholicmoms.com and decided not to hoping someone else would do it.
Please check out my web site and blog and give me some feedback. I would be delighted to hear from you.
Regards,
Dave
August 11th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
I forgot to put my web site in the comment I left. It is http://www.divorcedcatholicdads.com
August 11th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Dave,
Thank you for your comment. It’s exciting to have my blog found when I’ve been rather ignoring it. To me, that says that I need to go forward with this more seriously. So thank you for the motivation.
I visited your blog and am looking forward to seeing how it grows and evolves.
By the way, I tried to leave a comment there but couldn’t figure out how to do so….I’m not sure what I was doing wrong.
Take care!
Manya
August 24th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Manya,
Thanks for the response. Looks like I will have to find out why you could not leave a response. You and I are both using the same wordpress software, I think. You give me a lot to live up to in terms of what you have done with your blog.
Oh yes, I found your blog by doing a google search on ‘divorced catholic dads’ – you were and are here in NJ, the 3rd entry.
And reading your blog is a delight! Thank you for being truly Catholic.
By the way, I hope you have purchased the domain ‘divorcedcatholicmoms.com’ before someone else who is not as catholic as you gets it.
Gotta go work on my own blog instead of admiring yours.
Peace
Dave
July 2nd, 2009 at 5:17 am
A friend of mine emailed your website to me. My children and
I have suffered greatly after I decided to end the relationship with their father. We are in therapy still after four years and they have been affected by parental alienation. If you would like more info on the subject please go to http://www.paawareness.org
There are alot of parents being alienated from their kids due to messy divorces and custody cases and it is no longer just a fathers issue.
Peace
Tammy
October 18th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
I just wanted to say, thanks for the website! I’m not divorced, but my husband is, and I have three stepchildren. He and his ex also obtained an annulment so our marriage is valid, but I still get some odd looks from fellow Catholics when I say I have stepchildren! It is still hard, even when you follow all the right procedures. I didn’t even meet my husband until after he was divorced, but I still feel sometimes I am condemned in the eyes of some of my fellow Catholics.
October 21st, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Laura,
Well….all I can say is that it’s not the place of our fellow Catholics to judge…I’m pretty sure that God keeps that right to himself (oh, and gives some to the church, too…ie. “whatever you hold bound will be held bound…whatever you loose will be loosed…” etc.)
I recommend that you ignore those whom you feel look at you differently when they find out you have step children. Being a divorced Catholic – or marrying one – does not make a person less ‘good’ or worthy. No one else knows the circumstances and no one else (especially a person of faith!) should take it upon themselves to look down on another. So, I vote for not letting people like that upset you.
Getting off my soapbox now.
Thank you for sharing a bit of your story with us and WELCOME to this site.
Manya