Recently I met with my accountant so he can prepare my tax returns. It was the first time that I have not filed jointly since 1989.
This was another in a series of sometimes happy, sometimes sad, but always sobering experiences to remind me that I’m no longer part of a couple. Partner-less, you can call me single, alone, unwed, on my own, solitary, unmarried, divorced.
Divorce. It’s a word loaded with drama, deep emotion, and hard edges. For over two decades I was on the married team. Certainly not always happy, but part of a team nonetheless. In recent years, I desperately wanted to leave my marriage, but had no idea what that meant until I walked—sometimes crawled—through the experience.
I’ve now been single for six months. Yet, I’m not totally unmarried, either.
The untangling of a long-term marriage—both legally and emotionally—is a long, bumpy road that doesn’t travel a set path. My experience has been a bit of a roller coaster with two steps ahead on a Friday and then a giant step back the following day. During the worst of times, there is no moving forward and no going back: I’m simply suspended in a no man’s land between the past and the present.
Looking over the tax forms, it was clear the IRS has no option for how I feel. Forced to make a choice, I checked the single box and hoped for the best.
A few days later, I found this hysterical video, “The Divorce Dance” and had to share it. I cope by looking at the humor in just about everything. Yes, even divorce. Take a look. Have a laugh. Get up and dance. Come on, do it for me.
