A while back, I came across an ancient photograph album. I thumbed through pictures of myself, as a Girl Scout, eons ago. I remembered the Scout motto, “Be Prepared.” Like a ton of bricks landing on me, I realized what the problem was. We, as moms, didn’t relate to that motto, except for when it pertained to a diaper bag!
As a young mother, being prepared meant having plenty of binkies and babas, diapers, nursing pads or formula, bottles, wipes and Cheerios. Being prepared for our futures, in the event of losing a husband due to divorce, just didn’t enter our minds. We planned for the possibility of death. We prepared wills and selected the parties who would care for our children in the event of our demise.
What is so different about preparing for the possibility of divorce? Maybe it is different because, in our, oh so brilliant minds, to divorce or not divorce, is or was something that we saw as being within our control. Thinking about divorce went hand in hand with thinking about failing and that is just not part of a mom’s psyche. Let’s add one more piece to the puzzle. What stay at home moms do you know, who think about their own needs? It just isn’t a part of a new stay at home mom’s mind set! A word to the wise, please get prepared. It is never too soon!
