The end of a marriage is felt by everyone in the family, even when the children are already adults. For older parents in Maryland, it might be easy to forget that even if their children are adults, they will also experience many of the emotional toils associated with their parents’ divorce and that this can be made worse if the parents’ relationship has deteriorated into a contentious battle.
Remembering that you are a family
After many years of marriage, couples experiencing gray divorce might think they are just ready to leave their past life behind and start a new life far away from their spouse. However, for their adult children, this might be a challenging situation, particularly if they are not sure where the parents stand on the topic of their family. Children might experience a deep sense of loss and even grow distant from one or both parents during and after the divorce. But even if the marriage has ended, the family itself must continue, since this was a family created by both parents and even adult children continue to need to feel that the family is intact.
Think about the future you want to have
Even if you and your spouse have a difficult time getting along during and after the divorce, you should focus on the future and what you want your family to experience. Some of the things that might help you visualize family life post-divorce include Imagining yourself:
- Sitting around a family dinner with your ex-spouse and your adult children
- Dancing and laughing amicably at your child’s wedding
- Celebrating your child’s college graduation sitting side by side in the audience
Family life after a gray divorce must go on. Do not forget that the breakup will also affect your adult children and let that be motivation to learn to get along with your ex-spouse.