A rerun of a popular post

Do you recall this line from The Lion King? The one that lingers in my mind for the single mom and others is:

“You have forgotten who you are. Look inside yourself. You are more than what you have become. Remember who you are. Remember. . .”
– Mufasa speaking to Simba

After the earthquake of my divorce, I had managed to buy an older home near where I grew up. My high school was having its twenty-year reunion, and I did not attend. I didn’t feel like it. Or maybe I still didn’t know where I fit. Mary, a friend I’d known since childhood, who had long-since moved away, didn’t let me off so easily. She managed to find out where I lived and came by unexpectedly. There were always lots of bicycles in the driveway with my three and all their friends. Mary had to make her way over, around, and through them to get to the front door. Not one to beat around the bush, she pointedly asked me, “What happened?” She made reference to all the bikes and kid stuff, looked me in the eye, and said, “This isn’t you. What happened?”

I told my mother later, and she surprised me with, “She didn’t know the man.” Meaning, of course, my ex-husband. I’d put on a mask and worn it for years, doing what I thought was best for everyone around me. I had forgotten who I was. It took years and remarriage to a different kinda guy for me to remember who I was.

If you have had life experiences that put you in a similar place, here are a few tips:

• Accept that this has happened to you.
• Take a personality profile and be completely honest about it.
• Talk with very close, trustworthy friends about what has happened.
• Avoid people with whom you alter your true self.
• Keep a record or journal as you notice small, even tiny, differences in your approach to life.
• Honor who you are.

Additional resources: Personality Principles, Enneagram

Gail’s book HERE

Link to Gail’s website HERE

I raised three children as a single mother before I remarried. I have experienced the potholes, pests, and perils of being the single head of the household. As an educator in regular and special education for 20 years, I founded Single Moms EmpowerEd, a nonprofit that supports single moms as they earn degrees that lead to employment. I’m also a Certified Professional Coach, and my stories have been published in several Christian books and magazines. My book, Living Learning Loving, is available at Barnes & Noble, Walmart, and Amazon.