Yesterday, I moved out of the house that my ex and I picked shortly after we got married. I had been living there by myself since the beginning of April. I took his name off of the lease in order to get him to move out 6 months before our lease ended. It was something that I could afford on my own, but it was a bit of a stretch and was financially a burden. I think in my time living there and trying to survive, I didn’t allow myself to truly go through all the pain and grief that accompanied living there.
Last night, before I left, I sat in the middle of the living room of the completely empty house and sobbed. I don’t feel grief over the fact that my ex and I didn’t work out. That relationship wasn’t for me and it wasn’t serving me. I feel grief over the time and the money wasted. I feel grief for the 2 years of my life and the ability to have the experience of my first marriage with my forever partner being robbed from me. I grieved because for my entire adulthood, I have moved around incredibly frequently. I thought that house would be my resting place for a more extended period, but it turned out to only be temporary.
I grieved the most because childhood me loved the life that I could have had. The potential of that stupid house. My childhood was always full of fear, uncertainty, and a lack of emotional capacity from the adults surrounding me. In my adulthood, I wanted the opposite of that so badly. Last year, I saw a 4 bedroom house with a picket fence in suburbia as a sign of safety and security. How wrong I was, because within those walls there was no safety or security in sight. It was complete misery for close to a year of my life. I constantly wondered what fresh horror tomorrow would bring. I lived in fear and chaos, yet again, just like when I was a kid.
Now, I’m moving into a small 1 bedroom apartment with my cat. In some ways, it feels like failure. Divorce is seen as publicly shameful. Moving from a 4 bedroom house into an apartment probably looks really negative to outsiders. But with the small apartment comes the safety and security I have always dreamed of. It’s a home that’s mine and no one else’s. I don’t have to worry about anyone ruining my space, and I don’t have to accept anyone there that I don’t want to be there. It is something that I did by myself and for myself. There is so much love and strength involved. There’s so much more self care and confidence that I never imagined myself being capable of.
Looking back is hard, but I feel like I am leaving some of the most difficult parts of my life behind me. For the first time ever, I feel at peace. I feel the inner parts of me that are childlike and broken slowly healing. The weight of all of my trauma felt like someone was standing on my throat. I didn’t know how to breathe. I fought the trauma off and didn’t allow it to stand on me anymore. Slowly, I’m learning how to breathe again. I’m learning how to live without this terrible, crushing ailment. I’m learning how to live, period.
And it’s beautiful. Even in a 1 bedroom apartment. Divorce is not defeat. Not being able to control a negative situation without removing yourself from it is not failure. Success is measured by your ability to adapt, survive, and stand in your truth. Remain strong, and don’t compromise your happiness or beliefs. It will all turn out alright in the end if you stay true to yourself and love yourself first. I’m living proof.
~CC.