Well, here's something you don't see every day...

According to an Associated Press story, a couple in Cambodia divorced and the husband took his half of the house, albeit in bits and pieces.  That's certainly thinking outside the box.  I guess he gets points for creativity.

As Forrest Gump would say, "that's all I have to say about that."

When I mentioned my favorite blog a couple of weeks ago it unleashed this crazy amount of hits to my blog.  By sheer coincidence, I mentioned reading "Single in the Suburbs" that morning and by the next day it had disappeared.  All of a sudden, all these readers like me were searching for Sarah and by the magic of Google, they were finding my blog on Milwaukeemoms.com instead.

It got me thinking that there were a lot of women (and maybe some men), like me, who could totally relate to Sarah and her single parenting lifestyle.  Clearly I am not the only one following her ups and downs!

Because my e-mail is a bit like my office, minus the piles, I have messages that are still sitting there that I never bothered to delete.  At the time, I just saved all my Match e-mails to a folder.  I just went back through the archives and had a few good laughs.

For example, read this e-mail that I got from a guy who I had literally sent one e-mail to, asking him what he liked to do for fun in his spare time (I kid you not, I am not making this up!):

"I enjoy many things for fun...kissing and all that goes with it is definitely on the list, and downhill skiing, the shooting sports, golf, tennis, riding my motorcycle (with you), riding ATV's (I have one for you too), swimming, hiking, and so much more...I also enjoy doing things that include the kids...the list is endless...Do you like to kiss?"

Puking was more what I felt like doing after I read that!

Another interesting response was one I got from a man who lived in Portugal.  He seemed nice, but I thought that the distance would be an immediate issue that would be hard to overcome.  Plus I thought his comment about meeting his family was just a little too bizarre for me.

I was thinking it would be fun to hear about some of your more interesting responses!  Since I am no longer on Match and have not been for quite awhile, I'm no longer living Sarah's life in that respect.  If she ever gets serious with any of her possible suiters, then we'll be on the same page.  But none-the-less I still find Sarah's experiences entertaining and I'm sure she is not the only one with stories to tell!

I'm not one to recite movie lines.  I can never remember them. 

And truthfully, god bless Google, I had to look this one up to make sure I had it right.  In the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun" Diane Lane is going through a very painful divorce.  She vacations to Tuscany where she ends up buying a villa and renovating it.  One thing after another goes wrong with her renovation and one day she reaches her breaking point and says this line that I could completely relate to: "Do you know the most surprising thing about divorce? It doesn't actually kill you. Like a bullet to the heart or a head-on car wreck. It should."

When I first watched this movie a few years ago I was newly divorced.  I remember hearing that line, pausing the DVD and crying my eyes out.  She was so right.  My divorce was so painful, but it didn't kill me.  And like Diane Lane's character, Frances, there were times when it hurt so much, that it really should have.

I recently watched this movie again and I didn't cry at all.  Wow, progress!  I marveled at how time really does cure all wounds.  And I found it hard to believe how far I had come in just 3 1/2 years since I've been divorced.  I'm dating someone wonderful.  My kids are happy.  We are all healthy.  And my ex-husband and I get along amicably.  I was at one of the kids' sports activities talking with my Ex and I thought, "Wow, this is so great that over time we've been able to become friends."

And then, whoops, one disagreement later, with lots of nastiness hurled my way and I wonder, "What was I thinking?"  Back on the divorce roller coaster. 

I know in many ways this isn't so different from marriage and life in general.  We all have ebbs and flows in our lives and in our relationships.  But in a marriage you have a mutual goal of trying to be respectful to one another; because, after all, you love one another.  Not so with divorce. 

Because I have kids I am tied to my Ex (and his wife of three years) for life.  I've always put my children first so that's made it pretty easy to do the right thing. Well maybe it's not easy, but it's what I do nonetheless. 

But I must say that it is hard to always do the right thing and never get any credit for it.  I have people say, "Well of course you are not friends.  You are the ex-wife."  And conveniently, it seems, the punching bag.

I have to say, I don't get it.  Why can't we be friends?