my rough sketch of the back of our old home. watching the videos took me inside and into the backyard again. it was almost exactly how i remembered it.

As many of you know, my marriage ended many moons ago. 2005 to be exact. The divorce dragged on as most do, but if we’re talking about the actual marriage, it ended thirteen years ago. My, how time flies.

image source; dreamstime

At the risk of sounding smug, I’d like to warn  of these common divorce mistakes (a few that I’ve made myself). These are only a sampling of many mistakes we make but I’ve narrowed it down to the top five. So, this is a quick and dirty list of what not to do during your divorce.

Guys, as you know, I give advice here at the site and sometimes I even publish the Q & A as ‘Dear Lisa’. Is my advice always good? I hope so! However, I get all kinds of people writing me with questions and dare I say PROBLEMS.

So, this woman contacted me a month or so ago. I read through her long email. I gave it considerable thought before responding, of course.

Here’s the thing: Her question haunts me.

That’s Anita on the far right. Root friend. All of these ladies are root friends. That’s me second from left.

Right now I’m packing for an adeventure of a lifetime. I wanted to let you know I’ll be away for  the rest of the month. I can’t even believe it myself.

So, last December (almost a year ago) my good friend and I hatched a plan. It was a plan that I didn’t really think would happen. Just talk. But no. We’re doing it!

image used with permission from wikimedia

Have you ever wondered if there are gender differences in narcissists? Well, I wondered that very thing recently so I did a little research. Turns out, narcissists are more alike than different regardless of gender. That said there are a few specific differences in the behaviors of narcissistic men and women.

image source; Unsplash by liane metzler

Actually, it’s a viewer question. This is one of several contacts I receive after someone watches my youtube video on parental alienation. The comments keep coming over there and some of them quite negative. I’ve had to delete a few and guess which

image by Erin Smith

Oh my, it’s graduation, wedding, and recital season around the corner. This means ex encounters (of the third kind) of many kinds. Perhaps you’re on good terms with your ex, or maybe many years have passed so you have this down…if so skip down to the comments and tell us how you do it. On the other hand,  if you’re not,  you’ll need to be ready for this possible barrage of social ex encounters. 

image source Dreamstime

One of the biggest changes during divorce is losing the marital home, which I have written about before here.

It’s a loss that isn’t easy to swallow for many couples who have taken pride in their home. Dare I say, they’ve considered their home something of a status symbol or a page out of a decorating magazine? That will all change. You’ll see though that what really matters isn’t the shell of a home but who and what is inside it.

Alana, me and Luke

They say if you raise your children right, you set their roots so they can later grow wings…or something to that effect. I’m thinking upon my son’s one year departure to Australia, that the wings may have grown too large, uplifting those roots. I guess that’s the idea though and no one is to blame

Well, as promised, I have finished reading and I’m ready to share with you my review of Dr. John T. Chirban’s Collateral Damage; Guiding and Protecting You Child Through the Minefield of Divorce. (And I thought the title of my book was long).  I was given two advance copies for an honest review and giveaway here at the blog. The book is slated for publication this month. That means, the books I have for the giveaway are pre-published editions and as such have no page numbers and the Foreward is not included.