Divorce and Dirty Laundry

Have you ever known someone who was thinking about divorce?  It seemed as if they talked about being released, finding peace and fulfillment, and a bunch of other things.  Sometimes divorce is a good thing such as getting out of an abusive relationship.  Sometimes, though, it seems as if divorce is just what people do when they 'fall out of love' and think that divorce is the next logical step.

So what does this have to do with Dirty Laundry?

A lot.

You know how you can be going about your day, having just cleaned up everything-- and yet, when you look under the drawers (super cleaning day happening here), and you find a dirty sock.  And when you arrange the couch cushions you find some more. And pretty soon, you have not only  a pair of dirty socks, you have a week's worth of cotton for your feet.

That is a lot of build up, isn't it?

But here is the thing--  it took a while to get all of that cleared out, and when it happened, you really did have a clean home. 

What would have happened if you just left the dirty socks for someone else to pick up? Would they have stayed there for an extra week? Month? Year?

Divorce is like letting the socks remain where they are, yet hoping it will all 'just disappear'. It won't, there will still be issues-- sometimes even more.  If there are kids involved, we're not talking socks, we are talking bulky sweaters and jackets, because kids have a hard time with their parents divorcing. Children can often experience a drop in living standards, drop in emotional well-being, drops in grades, and even drops in emotional intelligence.

So if you are thinking about letting things build up-- don't!  Get some gloves on, and get to work looking into the crannies of your relationship, and start to clean up the gunk. 

Your spouse, your kids, and especially your socks will thank you!