 D-I-V-O-R-C-E: When Your Life Becomes a Country Song
Tammy Wynette’s classic D-I-V-O-R-C-E ballad was released in 1968, and captured a moment in American culture when the fault-lines in the institution of marriage became part of the national conversation. It was a seminal song that it many ways defined the heartache of divorce. That song was also part of the soundtrack of my own life when my parents divorced in 1972. It was like I woke up and found myself in the middle of a country song. And just like little J-O-E in the ballad, I was “going away” too. We moved across the country from Vermont to Texas, and my sister and I joined the ranks of latch key kids who were the true emotional pioneers in the land of divorce.  The estate of most individuals is worth more than just money. A family business, a summer cabin on the lake or an antique car collection may be part of a legacy, rich with family history that you want to pass to your children and grandchildren.
Many years ago, actually about 14 years ago, I received a letter in the mail (yes, an old fashioned, handwritten note). It was from my future brother-in-law. That shouldn’t seem that unusual, but he had passed away two days before I received the letter.
 It’s that time of year when that dreaded condition takes hold. Its grip is relentless and spreads faster than a measles outbreak at a theme park–it is “Senioritis.”
Your high school senior has seen the light at the end of the tunnel; and like a moth to a flame they are inexplicably drawn to it. College letters are rolling in, financial aid packages are coming–or not–and as a parent, only you fully understand the financial magnitude of financing a college education. The average student loan debt for the graduating class of 2014 is $33,000 with over 70% of all graduates walking across the stage in debt from student loans. Source  I now appreciate what mother birds must feel when their babies take their first flight. It is a long way down when they leap out of that nest and for mother bird it’s the most stressful moment waiting to see if they take flight or plummet to the ground.
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