C.D.
Good for you Denise! You are already a good strong mom for walking away from what would probably be a worse situation. I had to leave my son's father when my son was 4. He had a drug and drinking problem. I went to Alanon and met the nicest people. It helped me become a very strong person. I saw women that did not leave their husbands and their children were now screwed up. I saw children that hated their mothers for not getting them away from loser dads. It made me know I wanted more for my child. It helped me get rid of the anger. I am still angry because I have struggled for the last 10 years (no child support) but my son thinks that everything has been great because I never let him see that things were so hard. I saved that for my family and friends. I had him in couseling when he started getting mad he didn't have a dad and we worked through that also. Just take each day at a time, stop worrying about how your daughter is going to feel down the road. Be honest with her when she asks questions (don't tell details). I also told my son that his father's behavior was unacceptable. We deserved better then that,now that he is fourteen he knows what is acceptable behavior. And he knows when someone is not treating him well that he deserves better then that. What's hard too is changing your life. Other mothers got divorced when I did. They are all married and some of them are divorced again. Raising my son was more important to me then finding someone for myself. I always thought that once he was in college and on his way that will be my time. Maybe that will happen maybe not but I have so many wonderful friends it hasn't been bad. Once your daughter is in school you will start to make friends that will be there for you, you will have so much in common because of your child it will be happy again. Just hang in there. You have to be strong and she will be strong. You have to find joy and she will find joy. You have to move on and she will move on also. Stop thinking of the future and what she may say or do, have fun now and deal with now. Worry about what's coming when it comes, if you worry about it now and it never happens you wasted all that time for no reason. Be the person you want your child to become, they watch every move you make and they are so much smarter then we give them credit for...and always tell the truth. And who cares what her father is saying, my ex said mean things and lied about me for years, all I would tell my son is that I never lied to him and he has the right to believe anything he wants. After 10 years he is totally figuring things out and he knows the truth. He knows I am strong and he knows I am always there for him. Yesterday we were walking into his teacher conference and he told me that he told the teacher that I can kick butt, I was mortified but he proceeded to tell me that it was a compliment and that he knew I could always get us out of any bad situation. So kick some butt, rise above this and show everyone what you are made of:)