Maria Robinson once said, “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” This thought was comforting to me when I found myself in the middle of an unexpected divorce. I wanted nothing more than to start all over. I wanted to go back in time and redo everything. I wanted to erase him from my life completely. Unfortunately, when there are children involved, you don’t have that luxury. So I sat there, by myself with a bowl of ice cream and cried for a time machine that would never come, until one day when I decided to take the pen back. This was my story, and I was not going to let him have control of the pen anymore.
That chapter of my life had closed. It was time to move forward, and I was going to hold the pen this time. There was a world of possibilities in front of me. I couldn’t change what had happened to me, but I could change the future. Of course things will still happen, that’s the nature of life, it tends to catch us by surprise every now and then, but we do have control over how we handle the things that life throws at us. Are you going to be the bitter old cat lady that lives at the end of the street because she went through a horrible divorce? Or are you going to be the woman who picked herself up and found success and happiness because of it? You have the power to create your character. You can be the character that nobody likes, or you can be their hero. You make the choice.
Divorce doesn’t have to be the end of the world. It isn’t easy, it isn’t fun, and it definitely isn’t ideal, but it doesn’t have to be the end of your story. There is so much more ahead of you. Choose the happy ending. You have the pen now. Go write your own happily ever after. This is not the end.