One morning before going off to work, after nearly eight years of marriage, Alyssa’s husband told her he wanted a divorce. The announcement sent her into a state of shock. Leading up to his announcement there had been no identifiable indicators that he wasn’t fully committed to their marriage. After all, they both worked and had three young children.
Alyssa was already having a tough year. She’d been laid off a well-paying job after 17 years. Because of that job, her husband had only worked part-time so he could take care of the kids. When she lost her job, he took a full-time position and after a few months she found another job, with much lower pay.
The transition had been rough for both of them, but her husband’s announcement that we wanted out of the marriage threw her for a loop. He moved out and she was left with a huge mortgage, very little furniture, and, while her husband had joint custody of the kids, was still the primary caregiver to her three young children.
It was a year that nearly broke her. But throughout the whole experience, Alyssa acted (mostly) with grace and maturity. Because, even though her life had turned upside down, she never lost her gratitude. Her friends, her siblings, even some of her husband’s family supported her and she was every day grateful for their phone calls and drop in visits.
Even though her life was bottoming out, she kept in touch with her Higher Self through practicing mediation and journaling. She recognized that even while she felt abandoned that she was not and could be truly grateful for it. After several years, when the divorce was final and she’d moved to a more modest home, when things in her life were on the path to a new normal, she could hold her head up high, knowing she was gratefully standing on the shoulders of giants.