The Girl House
What it’s like living with my daughters after my divorce
It’s been nearly four years since I moved out of the home my ex-husband and I shared. At the time, my daughters were seventeen and six, and were the main reason I tried so hard to make my eighteen-year marriage work. I was very worried about how they would adjust to life without two parents sharing a home, but I need not have worried at all, we have found that living in what my youngest calls a “girl house” is way easier and more fun than the life we left behind.
My oldest daughter chose to live exclusively with me from the start and continues to live with me now. My youngest spent most of the first two years with me, only seeing her dad on random weekend days but now alternates between his home and mine. When my daughters talk about living in a girl house, they are referring not only to aesthetics (some of that for sure) but more about a certain type of freedom that they didn’t know they were missing when their dad was around. This was partially because I was not being my true self in an effort to make my ex happy, and partially because his control and unhappiness affected every aspect of our lives.
Here’s a rundown of what it’s like to live in a “girl house”:
- Art projects are everywhere in every stage of completion. A painting easel is a permanent fixture in the family room…
