I hit send.
In cyber seconds my email would populate the inboxes of friends and family members, officially notifying them of my decision to end my marriage. Since leaving my husband months before, I had already discussed my situation at length (read: ad nauseum) with those closest to me. But now I was ready to begin sharing with a second group of folks who were close enough to know the news, but would understand if such information didn’t come in the form of a phone call that starts out with an awkward, “I have something to tell you …”
As it turns out, one of the hardest parts of ending a relationship is the dissemination of information. Who do you tell? When? And how? Does Hallmark have an I-am-getting-unmarried announcement section? Is it appropriate to have my mother include it as a topic of this year’s Christmas letter?
Knowing the answer to both of these questions was “no,” I set out to share the news as best as I knew how, with a carefully crafted email explaining the ridiculousness of my soon-to-be ex husband’s behavior, the difficulty of the situation, and my decision to leave. Trying not to think about the reactions of those on the receiving end of an email with the simple subject line From Me, I turned back to my outlook calendar to assess my schedule and froze.
Of all of the 365 days in a year, I had chosen this day, today (repeat: of all days) to piece together my thoughts, pour out my heart and share my news. Really? Could I be so ridiculously moronic? Did Starbucks add a shot of stupid to my coffee?
Shaking my head, I sighed, accepting the fact that the day I decided to tell the world that I was taking on life as a single gal, was April Fools.
