Finding Things to Celebrate When Going Through Divorce
“Celebrate” and “divorce” don’t usually go hand-in-hand. But you can find joy and even celebrate parts of it – if you look in the right places.
Going through divorce is hard – there’s no way around it. It can cause financial troubles, heartache, worries about the future, and it can even exacerbate family issues.
Some divorces are amicable, but others can be contentious and drag out for months. You might have to leave your home. Your children might be having a hard time dealing with it. You might even need to move to a different community.
Finding Joy During Divorce
On the surface, nothing about going through divorce seems good. But, there are ways to find joy within a divorce and even celebrate certain parts of it. In fact, some people are even having “divorce parties” during the process to celebrate the feeling of freedom that can come after struggling through an unhealthy marriage.
If you’re going through divorce and having a hard time finding that joy, you just might not be looking in the right places. Let’s cover a few things you can celebrate when going through divorce. Doing so can make the process easier and help you realize that the next chapter of your life will be the best yet.
How to Celebrate When Going Through Divorce
Making Your House into Your Home
Whether you are staying in the marital home you shared with your spouse or you have to move somewhere new, one of the best ways to find joy is to make your living space feel more like you. When you live with someone else, you usually have to compromise on design choices. It may not have bothered you at the time. After all, it’s just another part of sharing your life with someone. Now that you’re on your own, though, you can take the opportunity to let your personality really shine through your living space.
A new home offers a completely clean slate. You can make your marital home look completely different with a few simple changes, including:
- New paint colors
- New furniture
- Artwork you enjoy
- Rearranging room designs
- Tackling bigger remodeling projects
Not only can redoing things in your home keep bad memories at bay, but it can really make you feel like you’re turning the page on a new chapter. You might even want to try a minimalist approach to home decor if your divorce has left you feeling overwhelmed. Minimalism is more than just a trend. It helps to save money and can reduce stress levels while still speaking to your personality.
Actively Celebrate with People You Love
Again, even amicable divorces can end in heartbreak. When you give your life to someone for a long period of time, ending things can cause a period of grief and loss. While an amicable divorce is often more peaceful and not impossible, it doesn’t mean the feelings of sadness, betrayal, or even anger aren’t still there beneath the surface.
As a result, you might not feel much like celebrating, especially on your own.
It’s the perfect time to actively celebrate with your support system. Get involved in family activities once again, including holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, and play an active role in old traditions, or start new ones. Leaning on the people who care about you can help you get through this time and make you realize how much more you have in your life. Eventually, you might even find yourself triggering the celebrations and wanting to celebrate milestones like birthdays and anniversaries again – maybe with a wine tasting party or another fun party idea.
The bottom line? You don’t have to celebrate alone. It’s okay to let others try to cheer you up and get you involved. Sometimes, that’s exactly what you need to find your own identity again.
Find Little Moments of Gratitude
Maybe you don’t feel like celebrating anything huge right now. If the idea of Valentine’s Day makes you sad or thinking about going out with friends feels overwhelming, you might not be in a spot to jump back into a certain kind of “normalcy”. But going through the loss of a marriage is different for everyone. There is no correct timeline to follow.
So, start small.
Try Keeping a Gratitude Journal
By finding little things to be grateful for each day, you will eventually see that life’s bigger moments are worth celebrating, too. Try keeping a gratitude journal and take a few minutes at the end of each day to write down a few things that made you thankful. It might include things like:
- Quality time with your children
- A good day at work
- A helpful phone conversation with a friend
- Your child helping to do the dishes after dinner
No matter how small those moments of gratitude might seem, they add up quickly. When you have a journal, you can look back on all you have to be grateful for, and it can really change your perspective. It can even help you prepare for bigger, better things.
Finding Something to Celebrate
Finding things to celebrate while you’re going through divorce isn’t impossible. Things might seem hard right now, but by having a mindset centered on joy and a willingness to move forward, you’ll quickly discover that life has plenty of things worth celebrating, and you’ve been given a fresh start to do just that.