I remember when I was a teenager my mother coming to me in tears after a fight with my dad asking me if she should leave him. Of course, she didn't because she's Catholic, didn't have a job, and it just wasn't done.

Sad to say that I never knew my mom as a child because she was often in bed with migraines, was depressed, withdrawn, and cold. After my dad died when I was in my late 20s, my mom came out of her shell and started to travel with her church and her family and I discovered for the first time what a great sense of humor my mom has. Unfortunately, this change came late in her life and she didn't have a whole lot of fun and freedom time before her arthritis crippled her up and kept her from doing very much.

Having my husband almost divorce me I would say there are good and bad things about divorce. It can be a much needed escape from an abusive marriage but it can also be too much of an easy way to run from problems rather than work them out. In my case, looming divorce was a huge wake up call that I needed to start treating my husband better. Our marriage has improved so much after the divorce scare because we are both working hard to treat each other better and not let small irritations turn into unforgiveable problems. It's kind of like we've fallen in love all over again.