5 Reasons Your Divorce is a Blessing in Disguise

Divorce makes it easy to feel defeated and like a failure. That's exactly how I felt for quite some time during and after my divorce. I thought, at 32, life was over and I had lost my chance at a life full of happiness, love, fulfillment and success. I was so wrong.

What I've realized, in retrospect, is that divorce {as with any challenging situation} actually contains within it many blessings. A decade later I am full of gratitude for my divorce, the opportunities that have crossed my path, and who I've become.

If you're at a stage where you're having a hard time finding the bliss inside the mess, here are 5 reasons your divorce is a blessing:

1. You get to learn who you really are, and now your life is all about you. If you got lost in your marriage, or your identity was tied up in your spouse, you have the opportunity to learn about yourself now more than ever before. Learn a new language. Take a pottery class. Go try a spin class or take yoga. Schedule that vacation to Africa. Read the books on your bedside table. Attend a Train concert. 

Guest Post by Natalie Gregg: How to Get and Increase Child Support

When raising children does not get any cheaper as the days pass, child support is important to soften the blows of the hefty price tag associated with growing children. Often parents land a seat in my office, asking the questions: how do I collect child support? what do I do if he doesn’t pay, and how can I increase it?

How do I collect child support? In Texas you should set up an account with the Child Support Disbursement Unit, get a wage withholding order from your husband’s employer, so that it comes directly out of his paycheck and goes through the proper channels, namely the Office of the Attorney General.

Happy, happy Mother's Day!

Make it an amazing Mother's Day Weekend, ladies! Cheers!

Books for Single Moms

What you read, and the information you immerse yourself in, sets the tone for your future.  When you choose to read books, articles, and blogs that lift you up, you in turn lift up your children and determine the direction of their lives, too. 

Here are some books that can make you laugh, think, and change your life:

The Successful Single Mom book series by Honoree Corder {that's me, see below}.

The High Road Has Less Traffic by Monique Honaman

The Joy of Ex by Debbie Burgin amzn.to/Zt3olr 

Super Single Mama @LauraVikmanis's book: It's Not About the Pom Poms http://t.co/3VlM0uZG

The Single Mom Rules: Your Ex & Your Past

When I wrote The Successful Single Mom book, I wrote about the Successful Single Mom Principles. The Principles are just about you as a single mom. After more than a dozen years of being divorced, I think there are some definite Single Mom Rules that could be followed to make peace with the past and the ex easier, and life better ... starting today. Here are the first three you may want to start incorporating for your own peace of mind and personal happiness:

Rule #1: Talk to and about your ex, the father of your kids, with kindness and respect. If you can muster it, speak with admiration for anything he's done in his life that you think is pretty cool. I have a policy, "Only positive comments about bio dad" in my house.

Remember: your kids are half of their dad. If you think he's cool, they will feel like you probably think they're pretty cool, too.

If you have something not-so-nice to say, save it for when the kids are at school, or you're alone with a girlfriend or your therapist.