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Tag: Koenig Dunne Divorce Law

Koenig Dunne Divorce Law

I am a Firewalker… Really

Within a matter of hours, I would take a step I once thought impossible. The master firewalker was about to prepare me and a roomful of other courageous and anxious souls to walk across a bed of hot coals on our bare feet. “What are the fears that have held you back?”  She asked. Now I was not only going to have to worry about a trip to the emergency room, I should think about a lifetime of fears?  I reflected on a huge host of insecurities that had blocked me from taking that first, or that next step, or
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Dreams Undone

You have seen her:  The gymnast precariously perched on the balance beam curling her toes trying hard to stay upright on the beam seconds before she slips off.  You have seen him:  The gold medalist Olympian returning to defend his record only to fall into seventh place during the final seconds.  The Olympics, for the majority of those who walk in the parade of nations at the opening ceremony, will end up being the deathbed of their deepest held dream. I think about all of the dreams that go into the Olympics – thousands of dreams coming from every corner
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Waking Up About Sleep

When I was a girl, I’d sometimes go to bed in my clothes just so I wouldn’t waste any time getting a start on the next day. For much of my life, a shortage of sleep silently signified I was half as hardworking as my German mother of eight. As a young mom of two under two, stressed by building my fledgling law practice and struggling in my marriage, sleep took a back seat to my beliefs about survival and success. Out of touch with both my body and my burnout, I pushed through my days oblivious to my exhaustion
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I Never Knew

Six words. Six words was the project assigned to my 6th grade daughter at the end of the school year. She was tasked with writing a six-word memoir of her life.  She completed the assignment and wrote: “I never knew they were unhappy.” I could think of a couple six word statements that I may have preferred: “I break for cats and books.” Or “I am happy, healthy, and whole!” Or “My mom is truly super awesome!” Any of these would have sufficed. Instead, five years later, she defined her life around her parents’ divorce.  This profound statement surprised and
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Remembering Angel

She carefully leaned into the microphone, her voice vulnerable with anticipation. Separated from her siblings, in and out of countless schools, she shared how she was packed up without warning and taken to a stranger’s house. How the second home, the one that followed the emergency one, was not a refuge but a haven for abuse. How she didn’t know if she would ever have a relationship with either of her parents again. As I examined her tiny frame and dark eyes I couldn’t discern Angel’s age. She spoke of years of being of repeatedly losing the few new friends
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The Truth

She is tough as nails.  Oftentimes she is in my office wearing a leather jacket and when talking her deep voice reveals a sharp wit and quick intellect.  She has short stylish spiked hair.  I assume that she intimidates a large percentage of people who cross her path.  As I prepared her for what her trial experience may be, I wondered how she may come across in court – this tough as nails mom. I was positive that even if I had suggested her wearing an appliqué sweatshirt with puffy kittens on it to soften her appearance, she would not
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Ashamed

Shame washed over me as quickly as my thought arrived, disturbing my relaxing read of the morning paper. The headline that Elizabeth Gilbert was getting divorced struck me with a sudden dash of vindication. The award winning author was separating from the man whom her million plus readers of Eat, Pray, Love knew as Felipe. After twelve years, which included publication of Gilbert’s other best seller, Committed: A Love Story, it was over. Why would I possibly feel any hint of satisfaction at the heartbreak of another? Did I dislike her? Had I become a cynic of marriage after decades
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Pride

Rainbow covered and smiling they weaved their way through booths and paused on this day to celebrate Pride.  They came young and old, dark and light, coupled and solo, and all with the aim of inclusivity.  Parents came to support their gay children, couples came to announce their new marital status after having been together for years and years without being able to enjoy the bond of matrimony, and families arrived feeling whole. Our firm has been part of the annual Pride festival in Omaha for over decade.  Our aim was to provide education and services to the LBGT community
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Orlando on My Heart

I awoke in paradise but the news was a nightmare. As the waves crashed against the shore outside my window and the children slept, I read the reports of the Saturday night slaughter of 49 in an Orlando gay night club. Together for the first time since Christmas, my two sons, my stepdaughter and I were full of anticipation about our helicopter ride over the luscious landscape of Kauai, a hike along the Napali coast, and simply being together. “Did you hear about Orlando?” was my good morning from my youngest. “I did,” I replied. We then fell silent about
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Vacation Vulnerability

There they were – their hair whipping around them and their laughter intensifying with the bump of every new wave as we soared across Table Rock Lake.  Water sprayed up into our faces serving as a brief respite from the 90+ degree heat bearing down on us.  We didn’t care about our messy tangled hair, our wet swimsuits, or the heat index.  We were on summer vacation without a care in the world and we had nothing but time to enjoy ourselves. And yet vacations can be an uncomfortable reminder of your familial status being less than before.  It sneaks
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