It would seem that making the decision to divorce would be the hardest part.  I would argue that dealing with the consequences of the decision are far more difficult than reaching the conclusion.  Once the decision to divorce is made, then you have to endure all of the opinions or reactions of those that know you and your spouse.

I was not prepared for the “I saw your wife” or “I saw your wife’s posts on social media” encounters.  As a matter of fact, I had not even considered her activities apart from ou marriage and how they would impact me.  My neglect to consider and prepare for these conversations placed me in a more perilous situation.

Divorce Journal – I Saw Your Wife
The trials that led to our decision to divorce were exhausting.  Once the decision was made, I begin to work towards the life I hoped to have after the divorce was final.  I never stopped to imagine what her response would be.  It was a mistake to only consider how I would recover from the end of our marriage.

She, first, took to social media and shared her feelings about the decision to divorce.  It was her right to do so.  I should not have been surprised as she is a writer and a connector of people.  It was the logical response.  But, then her ‘hanging out’ breached the social media platforms.  She started a campaign of public social interaction.  In short, she started hanging out in actual social places, such as bars and night clubs.

The first encounter I had with someone that would express their thoughts, feelings, or opinion on our divorce immediately arrest my attention.  It happened in my work space.  I left the encounter knowing that I needed a game plan.  Right away I started preparing an official ‘press release’ or a response statement, and practicing various facial expressions.  I did not like the feeling of being caught of guard, so I started preparing for the many future encounters that would come.

I would like to say my preparation to respond more appropriately to others’ opinions of our plans to divorce or my wife’s activities was absolutely successful.  This statement would not be true.  However, I managed to get better with each encounter with someone that decided to share in our decision by offering their opinion.  Participating in conversations about ou marriage with people outside of our union proved to be far more challenging than arriving at the decision to divorce.