Stuck in Winter — Minnesota at Midlife

Losing my house, community and children while undergoing divorce, I moved to Minnesota to pursue a degree in tech. It was the eternal winter of my soul.

I was searching for a way forward in a land of ice and snow. Photo by author.

After 30 years of marriage, I faced a divorce with little hope for a secure future, having worked as a stay-at-home mother for 4 children in that time.

My Husbeen traveled the world, working as a Chief Financial Officer, so I had been a single parent most weekdays.

To add insult to injury, he moved to Texas so he could drastically reduce his financial obligations to me, despite living in Connecticut for the previous 28 years and owning a 5,000 square foot house in that state.

I was desperate.

My children were certain I was the Problem.

Desperate times demand desperate measures

Once I found a tech school with 100% employment, I sold everything and moved to attend that college, despite it being 1000 miles away in the frozen Midwest, hours from Minneapolis and much else.

I was diagnosed with depression, but I stopped taking my antidepressants in order to think clearly, which the curriculum necessitated.