Divorce and Loss

Here is a wonderful piece written by a woman who shares custody of her 5 year old with his father.

"Even though I have had child-free time for some years now and can look forward to it, I still feel at a loss after my son leaves. I still feel sad and strange when he goes off without me. And even though I now have time to concentrate on my other life — my non-parenting life — things can just go a particular kind of quiet at my place when he's not around. It's the missing."

I'm not sure that this emptiness is something that parents always expect when they think about divorce. I know how quiet things are when One is gone overnight at a friend's; I can't imagine regularly being without their noisy, comforting presence.