I am chatting with a friend from high school.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just read all your stuff and I don\u2019t have any tissues near me so I\u2019m drowning in tears,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Of course he\u2019s joking (well maybe not entirely) and follows up with a, \u201cI\u2019ve stopped crying now so I owe you an hour at $150.\u201d<\/p>\n
I hit the keyboard running. Happy that my shared experiences are reaching others especially since even this overly open girl feels somewhat overexposed.<\/p>\n
\u201cLife has a weird way of taking you in a direction that you may not have wanted to go,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n
Duke is actually one of the lucky ones. He\u2019s happy in his relationship. Though that doesn\u2019t make him immune to having other loved ones experiencing the growing pains of life nor does it release him from an earlier pain.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we were younger it felt like we were moving in the direction that we wanted,\u201d I say. \u201cNow it feels that we are anything, but in control of that direction,\u201d I answer wistfully.<\/p>\n
The keyboard is momentarily silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey you just gave me one of my new column entries,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s my name in the column?\u201d he jokes.<\/p>\n
Duke is on to me changing the names to protect the innocent in my column. After all, I am willing to talk about what most would prefer not to share.<\/p>\n
How do we reconcile our young promises with our adult truths?<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother belief of mine,\u201d Writer Margaret Atwood, in Cat\u2019s Eye<\/i>, \u201cThat everyone else my age is an adult, whereas I am merely in disguise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perhaps that\u2019s why I like to refer to myself as, \u201cDivorce Barbie.\u201d It\u2019s not only because I\u2019ve always wanted to be blonde (honestly is it too much to ask…..just for a few months). There\u2019s an implied hint of youth (aka, Barbie) converging with my adult reality.<\/p>\n
The truth be told, Barbie\u2019s life was actually quite complicated……..\u201dLife in the Dreamhouse,\u201d<\/i> was not so dreamy. Turns out, Ken and Barbie broke up for a while.<\/p>\n
I thought my life would be, \u201cBarbie:\u00a0 Life in the Dreamhouse,\u201d\u00a0<\/i> and I\u2019d live life as a blonde only it wasn\u2019t meant to be.<\/p>\n
My attention turns back to the keyboard as my computer dings with a new e-mail.<\/p>\n
I open the link and peruse the photographers portfolio.<\/p>\n
There among portraits and families is a beautiful, high school graduate.<\/p>\n
With an obvious personal connection, the photographer writes a loving message wishing her young babysitter the best in life\u2019s next corridor. \u201cThe heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.\u201d Proverbs 16:9<\/p>\n
Did you know that the original Barbie was introduced in both blonde AND brunette?<\/p>\n
We all find all our unique direction even if we have to change our hair color a few times along the way.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I am chatting with a friend from high school. \u201cI just read all your stuff and I don\u2019t have any tissues near me so I\u2019m drowning in tears,\u201d he says. Of course he\u2019s joking (well maybe not entirely) and follows up with a, \u201cI\u2019ve stopped crying now so I owe you an hour at $150.\u201d…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":575,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-divorce-2"],"yoast_head":"\n