While I was sitting at Dunkin Donuts this morning enjoying a cup of coffee and reading my Twitter feed, I happened to notice something that caught my attention. There was this little kid with his dad ordering at the counter. He was probably around 9 years old. Behind them, in the line waiting to order, was this lady with her husband and I noticed she patted the kid on the back and started talking to him while his dad remained indifferent.

At first I thought that this lady was probably a friend or maybe a teacher but then I realized as she continued talking to him that this was actually the kid’s mother. What struck me as odd was the fact that this woman and the kid’s father were basically not even speaking to each other this whole time except at the end for just a couple of words and that the two men, the kid’s father and the mother’s husband, did not even address each other to say hello.

It’s no secret that I went through a separation and then subsequent divorce a few years ago but throughout all this my ex and I have remained good friends and I also get along with her new partner. In the end, I believe that is the civilized way to do things and it’s in the best interest of children because they don’t feel like they’ve lost a parent or have to choose sides. I know that this is not always possible in all cases but we as parents owe to our children to try to handle it in a mature way.

I’ve heard and seen too many horror stories about divorcing couples and seeing this made me realize what the title of this post states: count your blessings.