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This morning, three children opened their Christmas presents in front of their Mum and Dad. For most parents, this thankfully won’t feel like an extraordinary event. However, for my ex-wife and me, this was the latest milestone in what has been a remarkable journey. Last Christmas, we were barely speaking to each other. My 9…

Birthdays are hard once separated or divorced. It can feel just like any other day and not special at all. Especially if you have young children. There’s no one there to take your children to get you a gift, card and cake. Or to make sure it’s wrapped and a surprise. Or to organise waking…

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day. As I’ve written before, I find this day bittersweet. This is my tenth Mother’s Day alone now. I suppose I’m a veteran now? If that’s a good thing? When my marriage ended I definitely assumed by now I’d have met the man of my dreams and be settled again. Maybe another…

Lone parenting can be so hard.  You can often feel alone and that the entire burden of bringing the children up is your responsibility alone. My ex husband cannot often make the children’s special events or school parents evenings.  It is so hard not to get resentful.  I will send him a diary invite in…

The Perils of WhatsApp After a Breakup Digital Technology gives us the ease and convenience of fast, direct communication but it can create a minefield which can be especially deadly after a breakup. I suspect that most of us experience this. In the middle of a busy day, be it because of work, the kids…

A blog post by Ruth: There is a song in the musical Avenue Q* that goes like this… “When I was little, I thought I would be, A big comedian on late night TV. But now I’m 32, and as you can see – I’m not. Oh well. It sucks to be me.” This song…

Here are some thoughts from someone without kids: Valentine’s day is a little bit too commercial for me, but if you feel drawn into it because you’re single, here are a couple of tips to cheer up the mood on Valentine’s day. 1.  The easiest one is to keep it simple and invite a couple…

After a long day at work and collecting the kids from playscheme, tonight on the way home I saw a man come out of a florist with a big bunch of flowers, presumably for his partner or wife to surprise them in the morning and my heart just sunk.  I won’t have a card or…

On Saturday I waved goodbye to my children so they could watch their Dad remarry in a civil ceremony. It felt very strange and almost surreal but I wanted them to feel they had my permission to enjoy the day. It was 2009 when we separated, but despite the length of time since the pain…

To lose your wife, children, home, possessions and your business partner dies of a heart attack & you find your other partners have stolen all the money from the business to fund lives of luxury and self-indulgence in South Africa, and you’re left with a debt to pay off – life becomes a little odd…