Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Happy Birthday My Seat on the Beach


Four years ago today, I started the blog: My Seat on the Beach. It was a cathartic exercise in helping me to work through the angst and and anxiety of divorce. On Valentine's Day of 2008 my divorce was finalized. We used a mediator to guide us through the California divorce process which dictates that communal property (anything gained during the marriage) must be split 50/50.

The best resolution we could reach involved a 50/50 split of our belongings--which included my ex receiving half of my retirement fund, and my paying him alimony for a limited number of years. Had we litigated, I would have been required to pay more alimony and, most likely, for his lifetime.

Starting this blog helped me maintain my emotional and spiritual equilibrium during the early post-divorce years. I disciplined myself to write a blog each week for that first year during which I learned to rest in the comforting, protective arms of God/dess,  and to commune with nature and my creative spirit.

Some of my favorite blog pieces are from the first year--especially my first blog, Hail to Pippi, an ode to my earliest heroine Pippi Longstocking. myseatonthebeach.blogspot.com/2008/07/hail-to-pippi.html I didn't know it then but that first blog post helped set the tone for my divorce recovery. Life is an adventurous journey and I want to face it fearlessly, just like Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Mackrelmint Ephraimsdaughter Longstocking,

Happy Independence Day!