The break was great! We all love being able to lounge around in pajamas and make leisurely decisions about what to do with our days, so it was very relaxing. The kids were kind of sad to be heading back to school already today, and my D kept inquiring how long exactly it was until summer break....
Your lawyer is an idiot! And hasn't it been several generations since women wanted to call themselves Mrs. (H's first name) (H's 2nd name), anyhow? When I was young my parents had an elderly woman friend whose stationary, etc, all said "Mrs. James Smith" and it totally creeped me out because James Smith had died before I was born--it seemed to my childlike mind that she was shackled to a corpse.
You, on the other hand, will be free soon! I wonder what the 1-month waiting period is for? It sounds as though you anticipate that D-day will be a difficult annual anniversary for you. Maybe it would be better if it was March 17, so that you already had positive associations with that day, which could over time dominate? I'm sure the day you get the decree in the mail will be very difficult for you. It's awful how long it takes until our minds can stop replaying all the bad bits with each new trigger. And worse, maybe we need to go through this until we're finally ready to say "enough already!" and let it go?
You're doing well, though. Just need to work on getting back more of a social life! Do you think the move to the condo will put you in an area where there will be people in your age-group, and opportunities to try new things?
I'm glad you're not depressed! It really is hard to get through this kind of betrayal and rejection without slipping into at least a low-grade form of depression. So well done, you, for being so strong! And, now that you are a divorced (or almost divorced) woman, are there some goals you've been working on for yourself? How do you see your life changing in the next few years? What changes would you like to see? What is your vision of an ideal life?
