Tag: Starting Over
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What They Don’t Tell You about the Empty Nest Syndrome
What they don’t tell you about the Empty Nest Syndrome is that there are generally two ways it plays out. Most often, I see the kids trying to leave home and start new lives for themselves while their parents become very controlling. By the time the kids leave, the kids can’t wait to get away…
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You Are Free to Go
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Passion to the Third Degree. Maybe it’s the fact that my firstborn will be leaving the nest this time next year. Or maybe it’s just a drug-induced epiphany from the allergy meds that are helping me fight the dust and smoke that seem to be consuming the other…
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I Run My Household (or Does It Run Me?)
Yay! I’ve been productive at home and I have things to show for it! Of course, you can’t tell that by looking at my house. It’s completely trashed right now, what with furniture moved all over the place and stuff stacked to the ceiling and other stuff dusty from the repair work. But it’s done.…
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The Wheel Turns
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Crimes to the Third Degree. A lot of my friends moved last year, either to marry or for job opportunities. When I say a lot, I mean most of them. I don’t blame them—the Wheel turns and provides narrow windows of opportunity, and you take them or you…
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My Mom Has Sex Hair
My taste in clothes hasn’t changed, not really, since I was 19. I remember once in college, alone in my apartment with Roxy Music playing “Avalon” in the background, a glass of red wine in one hand, candles burning, and me barefoot and singing to the record and wearing a long burgundy velvet dress. And…
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Thank You for Treating Me Like Shit (No, Really….)
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree. My dead grandfather is in my garden. Again. But where else would he be? No one he loved/loves still lives on the farm under the old oaks where he spent the bulk of his 90 years as an entrepreneur and individualist. He was…
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Defining Moments
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree. Snippets of conversations sometimes come back to haunt me. Rarely are they words I’ve spoken myself, so it’s not a matter of regretting something I’ve said or done. Vicki tells me that middle-age spread is a direct result of eating your own words…
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Risking Life Is the Only Way to Live
Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Life in the Third Degree. Life is all about risk. How did I make it to my 40’s without realizing this? I’ve known it in my day job for decades, and yet, I never translated it into my personal life. In my day job, I’ve accumulated a number…
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Dress for the Hell of It
Newly single women tend to dress sexier, according to my colleagues. That may be true, but it’s not necessarily to catch a new man. It may be that the woman is dressing more “herself” than what her divorced or deceased mate wanted. Several years ago, in my hometown church, an elderly widow was the brunt…
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The Ball’s in his Court?
I’ve been divorced long enough that few people tell me what to do anymore, or how to do it, or –heaven forbid—how to play the game. Maybe they grew tired of it. Or maybe it was the less willing ear I give them now, accompanied by plenty of eye-rolling if I’m nice enough to sit…
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Mythbusters: Divorce Fact or Fiction
Today is a milestone day for me. It’s a milestone because it was 5 years ago today that I sued my 20+year mate for divorce and started a new life. It’s a milestone because that was a time of great uncertainty and wondering where I’d be in 5 years and if I’d “make it.” I…
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“Take These Five Words and Call Me in the Morning”
This post has been removed due to harassment issues by readers searching for information on Dr. Matt Dorman, who inspired this essay. The article is now included in the book, Give Your Life Direction. From the Bookshelf A Reverence for Trees — an emotional short read about love, healing, and a little magic. Available direct…
