Additional Coverage:
- I wasn’t prepared for the loneliness I felt when my ex and I separated. When my son isn’t here, the silence in my house is overwhelming. (businessinsider.com)
Local Mom Finds Strength in Silence After Separation
A local mother is opening up about the unexpected challenges of separation, sharing her struggle with the silence of an empty house. After separating from her husband last year, she found the quiet, especially when her 3-year-old son was away, almost unbearable. The silence amplified her doubts and regrets, making it difficult to process her new reality.
Initially, she avoided being alone. She filled her time with friends and binge-watched TV shows, seeking solace in other people’s stories to escape her own. She also found herself grappling with the absence of friends who distanced themselves after the separation, their silence adding another layer of pain.
When her son is with his father, she finds comfort in small rituals, tidying up his toys and saying their names aloud. These simple acts help her maintain a connection with him during his absence.
The silence, however, has been a constant companion. She describes running the dishwasher with only a few dishes or doing laundry, not out of necessity, but for the comforting sounds. Writing has also become an outlet, a way to process her pain and rediscover hope.
Therapy has been instrumental in her journey. Her therapist helped her realize she hadn’t learned how to be sad, how to sit with uncomfortable emotions. She had always sought distractions, but now she’s learning to confront her sadness head-on.
Recently, a moment of spontaneous dancing and singing in her kitchen marked a turning point. She embraced the silence and filled it with her own voice, a voice she’s learning to listen to without judgment. In the quiet, she is discovering not just how to be alone, but how to be herself.