How Do You End A Marriage Amicably?
Clearly, I’m failing.
In the ongoing saga that is the end of my marriage, my husband Joseph agreed to try a “Parenting Marriage”.
It means that we focus on the kids without a romantic partnership. He can date whoever. I can date whoever. We have schedules. There are agreements, much like a divorce, except staying under one roof for the sake of the kids.
The problem? All of this hinges on staying amicable. And we’re failing miserably.
It’s 3:00 pm on Thursday. Our kids have switched to a hybrid model of school and afternoons are virtual classes. Combined with my son’s additional therapies through his IEP and my daughter’s Early Intervention online classes, afternoons are hectic.
While my son Ashton is doing online physical therapy, his sister Eva takes the shiny new iPad my husband bought (according to him, “the other two were so old that the latest updates for their games couldn’t be installed and they’re too slow when they play Minecraft”).
Ashton starts screaming in the middle of his Zoom session and crying how he hates his sister. He’s 10 but his autism makes his emotional maturity at about 5. Eva’s in her room bemoaning how she never gets the new iPad.
