Life Imitates Art

I just got through watching another Christmas movie.

Made me mad!

The story basically goes that a woman who is the wife of a wealthy developer suddenly finds herself divorced and out on the streets.

For months her husband had been acting like his business was going down the tube, putting on quite an act that money was hard to come by even for food and gas. So when he fesses up about the affair, she thinks she's getting a halfway decent end of the stick when he offers her $25,000 equity in their home to settle.

Later on she finds out it was all a sham. He ends up with the house, the successful business, the money, and the daughter.

She ends up mugged and homeless on the streets.

And this is a Christmas movie???

It all ended up very nice in the end. However, it was very hard for me to watch to get to that point.

See I watched a dear friend of mine live nearly this nightmare. Throughout her marriage to Attila-the-Hun, he basically made it out that they were always short of money. She borrowed maternity clothes for each of her pregnancies and gave him three beautiful children. She had to make a tight grocery budget stretch. You wouldn't believe what she went through, but she did it because she loved him.

Then he divorced her for another woman. At least in her case the attorney discovered money that he'd only tried to hide. Most likely there was more. Ended up also with a nice alimony and child support payment that was more than she was used to having. She had no idea he made that kind of income while they were married.

But then he ended up screwing up the kids for life and fought her tooth and nail for their allegiance. For the kids' sake, she capitulated to his every whim. She gave up the alimony payments to try to placate him. Then she ended up pretty much giving up her children to avoid the constant court battles. She couldn't afford the attorney every few months like he could.

Why do I tell you this??? Because in the end, she's fought to regain her dignity. She's gainfully employed in her dream profession as a professional musician. There's not alot of money in that, but how many people in this world can actually say they are pursuing their dream???

No she did not end up on the streets, but she's struggled to keep a roof over her head. The key is that she HAS done it. She's even regained custody of one of her daughters and her son. Yes, there's still problems, but she's dealing with them and not letting the past continue to dictate her future.

It's been a long, hard struggle for her, but everyday she makes greater strides toward complete independence. I'm so proud to call her my friend.

Congratulations, L! You are a beacon of hope for us all.