As I look back at my journey through this thing called life, I can finally take a step back from my experiences and be grateful for the lessons instead of clinging onto the pain and disappointment. I’m finally at a place where I can look at my divorce, losing my job, my financial troubles, my weight gain and the endless string of bad experiences with the dating world as the equivalent of a doctorate in the study of myself. This past January, I made a conscious decision to move forward and “fix my life”. What I discovered was that I didn’t really fix anything other than my mindset.  Yes, I…

Waking up alone in my bed has become the norm. I have a choice. I could wake up feeling lonely and depressed or I could wake up being grateful for the freedom to start my day any damn way I choose. I choose the latter. Every day you are faced with the choice. The choice to wallow in self-pity or bath in gratitude. We often romanticize being in a relationship and forget just how miserable we actually were being with that person. I don’t know about you, but I rarely see a married couple that is truly happy all the time. In reality, you spend 80% of the time completely…

I recently had a moment of weakness as I sat in bed one evening with a glass of wine browsing endlessly for a new pair of spring sandals on the DSW app. Instead of shopping for shoes I went against my better judgement and downloaded a new dating app. I know, I know…I said I would never subject myself to the horrors on online dating again, but I heard from a friend of a friend that they met a great guy on Zoosk. Probably the exception to the rule that someone found love online, but I thought, “What’s the harm in looking?” So, I uploaded a few pictures and wrote…

Ahhh Spring—the birds are chirping the sun is shining and love is in the air…unless you live in New England that is. Mother Nature seems to be on her period and wanting everyone to suffer with this cold miserable weather. My Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) is in full effect when my “Spring Break” is living in 30-degree weather. Moving to Cali is looking more and more plausible. Despite the fact that Mother Nature is acting more like Mommy Dearest, I feel the anticipation of spring weather and all that it brings. It is a magical time of year. It’s a time for renewal and a time of hope. That’s what…

People often ask the question of how long will it take for the pain to go away after your heart is broken and the answer is never definitive. For some, it can take a few months and for others it can take a lifetime. Everyone’s pain is unique and coping mechanisms are ingrained deep within your subconscious. For some people it may seem like they move on quickly and fall in love again effortlessly. For others the pain seems to linger and they close themselves off in a protective shell hiding away from vulnerability. Neither one is right or wrong, yet neither approach gets to the place of truly healing.…

There are many times throughout the process of divorce that you will emerge from the darkness. The darkness can feel like you’re lost–where everything feels like a weight that surrounds you, holding your feet to the ground with no path showing you how to get out of the dark. You stay there paralyzed in fear. Frightened of the unknown. You’re alone and afraid and no one can help you out…except you. The darkness is insidious and it creeps in like the mist until it has you surrounded in a fog of despair. The darkness comes when you realize the person you’re with is not who you thought they were. Your…

Making the decision to leave your marriage or relationship can seem like an impossible choice. Knowing when or how you’re going to walk away can take months sometimes years. Sometimes it isn’t your decision at all and your partner makes it for you. Neither scenario is an easy one, but it can be the best thing that you ever did. For me, it took over three years to work up the courage to leave my marriage. I knew the marriage had dissolved and I knew I wanted to leave long before I spoke the words. It was the most frightening thing I had ever done and the anxiety was overwhelming.…

In just a few short days we will be celebrating Valentine’s Day (insert eye roll). For those of us without a significant other, we like to refer to it as “Singles Awareness Day”. A day where we become acutely aware that we are not in a loving relationship. Well, this year I want you to reverse that belief and gain a new perspective. This year, I want you to do something for yourself and be your own damn Valentine. Do something special for yourself; whether that’s booking a massage or ordering your favorite meal and have a candlelit dinner for yourself. Draw a bath with your favorite lavender oils and…

Forgiveness is probably one of the hardest things to accomplish after a relationship has ended and yet, it is the only way to truly get through the process of healing. Forgiving the person that hurt you so deeply can feel like we’re handing out a free pass to redemption for their wretched soul. Quite truthfully, we want to hold on to the pain and hurt they may have caused as a way to prove how horrible they are as a person because it makes us feel justified and right. It allows us to be the “good guy” and demonizes their flawed character. It also allows us to play the role of the…

Over the past several years I’ve dated a few really good guys that (at the time) I thought weren’t quite right for me. In hindsight, I realize that they probably weren’t so bad and perhaps I didn’t give them a fair chance. I picked apart every aspect that didn’t fit my endless list of criteria and if one little thing reminded me of my ex…I ran for the hills. Perhaps I was just afraid. Perhaps I was pushing love away because I was scared. Scared of being vulnerable. Scared of being hurt. Scared of love. Imagine that—being scared of the one thing in life that makes life worth living. Looking…