My parents live apart, but they are not divorced. This seems to be a really difficult thing to explain to people when they ask where "home" is. It's weird for me now because my childhood home no longer belongs to us. My parents sold the house and moved to two separate locations...and that is okay.
My parents' careers went in separate directions, pulling them to separate parts of the country, but they are still together. My dad moved to Florida to pursue his career, while my mom stayed in Washington D.C. and kept moving on up the company ladder. I hear all too often "oh when did your parents separate?" ...they didn't. "They don't live together, but they're still married?" ...yes. "Surely they must be getting a divorce." ...no, they're not. My parents live separately because of their jobs, not because they don't like each other anymore.
My mom tried several times to search for a job in Florida, but she didn't find anything that she knew she would love as much as the job she has now. So, she stayed in Washington. My dad is in a contract with his company, so he stayed in Florida.
They visit each other whenever they can, but for now they live apart. Obviously this is not the norm that everyone is used to, and I think that's why it is so hard for people to understand my family dynamic. We still get together as a family for holiday's and important events, but its actually pretty nice to have two separate homes to go to when I go "home".
Having my parents live in two separate locations means that I have two separate places to go when I want to visit. I can go to sunny Florida to visit my dad, or I can go to the hustle and bustle of Washington D.C. to visit my mom. I have two separate places to visit, but I don't have to deal with the awkwardness of divorced parents. A win win if you ask me.
Having "homes" is two different parts of the country is pretty awesome. Does it suck that sometimes I don't get to see both of my parents at the same time when I go "home"? Well yeah, it does a little, but also I think that its pretty cool that I can spend time with my mom separately and I can also spend time with my dad separately.
Them living separately was something that was hard to get used to. I remember in the early days of it, I was very suspicious of them and always questioned if they were going to get divorced. But now, it is my normal, and I think it will be another adjustment when they move back together.
My parent's live separately, and they're still together, and that is totally okay with me, so it should be totally okay with you also.
