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Category: Doing Divorce

Angela Dunne provides practical advice based on real examples of what she and her clients have faced through the transition of divorce.

Doing Divorce

Angela Dunne provides practical advice based on real examples of what she and her clients have faced through the transition of divorce.

The Ebb and Flow

We nearly broke into a run when we first spied it.  The wind whipped through our hair and the telltale smell of fire-faded driftwood blew through our bodies.  After awkwardly walking through the dry shifting sand, we reached the stable ocean line where the waves tickled our toes – easily mesmerized by the methodical movement of the ocean tide. My daughters and I spent the last week at the Oregon coast.  Several times we made our way to the beach and as I watched them delight in dancing in and out of the frigid water, I found myself thinking of
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My Place

There is a place in the upper Northwest corner of our country that is filled with magic.  I seek annual refuge in this place to clear my mind by breathing the salt filled air and watching the ebb and flow of the ocean tide.  My favorite place on Earth is the Oregon coast.  The Pacific Ocean is lined by rocky cliffs, at the top of which the evergreens grow and down below the starfish cling to rocks in tide pools.  My temperament is most suited to the mild temperatures and rain dappled days this coast has to offer.  I find
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Doing the Division

My girls are having a magical summer.  It has included a trip to Mexico with their dad, stepmom, and stepbrother to celebrate his high school graduation.  Then they hit the water slides in the Wisconsin Dells with me for our annual family vacation with my parents, my sister and her family.  They were home one day before packing up and heading to their annual summer camp for the fourth consecutive year.  Now they are spending a week in Yellowstone National Park for the first time with their paternal grandparents excitedly telling me in nightly phone calls about where the buffalo
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The Focus of Feelings

I watched the news in disbelief.  A 10 year old St. Cecilia student drown.  He was a classmate and friend to my daughter, Sophia.  I knew him from the time spent over the years teaching Junior Achievement in their classrooms.  He was well-liked, quiet, and humble.  My heart started to break open for his parents and his 8 year old brother now in the midst of this tragedy. At the funeral, I could not take my eyes off of her.  His mother trying to find her footing to stand up for hymns.  She barely took her eyes off the casket
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Seeing the Light

I have a regretful confession.  I nearly forgot my dad on Father’s Day this past Sunday.  Father’s Day was sandwiched between coming home from a week long family vacation on Saturday and dropping my daughters off to camp on Sunday afternoon.  While I was doing parenting pirouettes with laundry in and out, suitcases emptied and filled, and finding the plastic rain ponchos I knew I had somewhere, I was distracted to say the least. Add to this, my daughters and I gave my dad – their Funpa – his Father’s Day gift a week prior to the actual day.  We
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Passports and Parenting

This glorious view was that of my daughters last week while they vacationed in Mexico with their dad. They sunk their toes into the sand, tasted their first virgin pina coladas, and zip lined away their fears of heights. I lived vicariously through them with their photos and sporadic text updates when they stopped in their rooms long enough to use wi-fi. I jealously regarded the photo with so many mixed feelings it left me reeling. I tried to stay most focused on how genuinely happy I was that they were having this incredible experience. I pushed aside worry-wart wondering
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Taking the Tennis Shoes

I encouraged her more times than I can count to collect all of the items from my house she would want or need for her trip to Mexico the following week with her dad.  The day she was leaving my house I ran through a mental checklist with her.  Swimsuit?  Check.  Sandals?  Check.  She gathered her bag of items and off she went.   A few days later – the day before her departure – I get the message.  “Mom, I forgot my tennis shoes at your house and I need them for the trip.  Can you bring them after work?”
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The Last Day

Today is the last day of school for yet another school year that flew by in the blink of an eye.  The last day of school signifies the end of another season.  My girls and I look forward to the last day of school each year.  To mark the fresh start of summer fun and leisure, I wrap up a pairs of sparkly flip flips for my daughters along with some new summer reads. The last day of school is also tinged with sadness.  Tear-filled eyes say goodbyes to friends and teachers for the summer.  The comfort of routine is
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Beating Bitterness

I could see her choking down her hurt.  He was determined not to let her see him wince across the table set for depositions.  I observed a mixture of emotion fill up the space, even when words were silent.  They occasionally glanced at each other when recalling details of their twenty-two year marriage.  They were answering questions in front of each other about the contributions they each made to their marriage, about how their children had been successful or not, and what they each thought would be a fair way to divide their lives. They were afraid to smile at
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Co-Parenting Cliché

I stared long and hard.  The image seemingly becoming larger the longer I looked at it.  I could feel my mood crumble as a grumble moved up to my mouth.  “Are you kidding me?” I wanted to shout into the screen. hashtagcoparenting??  How about hashtaghard; hashtagcomplicated; hashtagtheoppositeofholdinghands. It was like staring at a picture of a perfectly airbrushed 6’5” 100 pound supermodel with a title that reads “How to Look Great No Matter What Your Size.”  With just a few simple sit-ups every day in between sipping kale cauliflower shakes – you too (yes you – the slightly overweight and
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