Dad's Life

The Holidays – The Cruelest Time of the Year

EDITORS NOTE: I wrote this just after Thanksgiving, but didn’t post it. But then I noticed something funny… I hadn’t posted anything!

Holidays can be the cruelest time of year and probably the only time I re-think divorce and what it has caused. Holidays are made for family and there is great joy in seeing the holidays through the eyes of a child. However, every other year one parent does not get that experience.

Fortunately small children are caught up in holiday presents and cousins they haven’t seen in a while so they barely notice that only one parent is there. One parent is experiencing the joy of their family and the joy of spending the holiday with their kid.

The other is smiling with family, but deep inside they hold a sadness for the empty seat at the table that should hold their child. They never say a word a about it, but the other kids in the corner remind them. or perhaps the fact that is not a single kid around stings just as much. No matter sets you off, no one else feels the sting or even notices that you have been stung.

Holidays are the time where you start to wonder if divorce was really worth it. If you are sane, you quickly remind yourself that the answer is a resounding yes and then you take another swig of wine and smile and laugh along with the rest of the guests. You say “how cute” when other guests do something cute with their kids. You remain sane.

I can’t forget the biggest secret – functional medicine. My dietician Dominique Hoffman is the best!

Thank God I have my child this Christmas, or I feel this post could get really negative!