A universal truth about divorce is that there’s almost always less after divorce and one way in which there’s less is you no longer have a partner to share the load of daily living. The mere thought of that can be scary:
Living alone was a trial by fire. Every time something happened, I was knocked back because I didn’t know how to handle it. The most valuable lesson though is that I can find out how to do these things. I am not a dimwit for not knowing how to do them. I just haven’t had the experience. ~ Carolyn
Carolyn was in her late twenties when her marriage ended. One of her biggest hurdles even in considering ending her marriage and then for life as a newly-single person was that she had never lived on her own.
Feeling intimidated about living alone is not uncommon whether you’ve never lived alone or if it’s been a while. I love Carolyn’s perspective here … all those skills and abilities that make others appear so competent are all learned skills. As my handyman likes to reassure me … it’s not rocket science. We’re all capable, we just have to be open to learning.