Making Lemonade: A Guidebook for Life After Divorce

By Jodi Seidler

Making Lemonade A Guidebook for Life After Divorce. By Jodi Seidler
This Guidebook dissects, explores and gleans the experiences out of 15 years of single parenting; weaving them into 88 pages of insights, wit, prose and hard core facts. Its a quick study manual for all single parents starting a new life.

Nothing was worse than not getting asked to prom. And then you had to deal with the bar circuit and dating in your 20s. Then, your 30s roll around and you wonder why you are still single when you are finally secure with who you are. And then, you get married and have children, and your Prince Charming turns out not to be so charming after 10 years of marriage, so you depart with the pumpkin. And now you are in your 40s, and back on the dating circuit, teenage child in tow.

How do you not just survive, but prosper as a single parent and also prove (to yourself) youre still a catch in todays market?

When we first realize we are on our own, life can feel surreal. Maybe we got used to someone else pumping our gas, cooking our meals, paying our bills, cleaning our house. Perhaps we could not wait to leave the relationship, but no one told us the challenges and feelings we would be experiencing.

We ask ourselves - whose life is this anyway? Well - turns out its your NEW life, and its time to buckle your seat belt and experience YOUR new life head on!

Jodi Seidler shares tips, tidbits, prose and inspiration on what its like to be a(divorced) single parent in todays world.

Jodi is The Mother of Re-Invention and Founder of the internets first single parenting site back in 1997 - www.makinglemonade.com - The Single Parent Network; and Creator of the whimsical HIP community - www.hipsterclub.com for people who have had a hip replacement.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 23, 2009
• ISBN: 9781462801268

Jodi Seidler

Because of her passion, Jodi Seidler has been profiled on hundreds of Web sites and publications, including: The Cover Story of Single Parents Magazine, Child Magazine, USA Today, The LA Times, The Milwaukee Journal, and The New York Times. She has written stories for: Chicken Soup for the Pre-Schoolers Soul and The Heart of a Mother Book Series; and has carried the Making Lemonade message to her own Single Parent radio show, as well as national radio and TV talk and National News Shows. Jodi Seidler knows how to help the newly single get beyond divorce and prosper as a single parent. She's the founder of the leading single parent information site www.makinglemonade.com and creator of a HIP replacement communitywww.hipsterclub.com. She is the author of the ebook -- 55 Things Every Divorcing Mom Should Know! From ever vocal single mother to inspired empty nester, Jodi lives in Santa Monica, California; her mentor and son Sam now resides in San Francisco. Always remember when life hands you lemons..keep making lemonade!

Book preview

Copyright © 2009 by Jodi Seidler, The Mother of Re-Invention.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

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without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

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DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to all the single parents out there . . . for your commitment, focus and ability to juggle without losing yourself. At least, that’s the goal 

Be yourself, everyone else is taken

Contents

__________

The Truth About Jodi Seidler

A Surrender

Connection Lost

I Tossed and Turned

Do I Stay – Or Do I Go?

Four Easy Get-Over-it Facts About Divorce

The Healing Piece

Finding Peace

Dating Isn’t Easy – No Matter What Age

When is the Right Time to Move On?

To Be or Not To Be . . . Single

Four Things to Remember on your Second Date!

Can You Make It Through Another Break-Up?

Running Into An Angry Ex

Joint Custody with an Unreasonable Ex

Building Your OWN Nest

Please Don’t Call Me MRS.

You Didn’t Cause It – And You Can’t Fix It!

Time Sharing – With Your Kids

The Many Faces of Grief.

Dating Another Single Parent

Divorce Therapy – A Wave of The Future?

Summer Fun

Single Dads Unite

When Your Child Acts Out

Child Support and Visitation

Budgeting Your Time

The Art of Empty Nesting

Your Child’s First Love

Being a Good Role Model

Dealing with Issues

Starting Over With A New Life

Tips to Creating a Single Parent Group:

A Room with a YOU

Fatherhood—A Mother of a Job

It’s All About . . . Making Lemonade!

Awoken From A Dream

My Judge Had A Bad Day When I Went To Court!

About Jodi Seidler

The Truth About Jodi Seidler

Lauren Brenner

There’s an old Yiddish folktale about a farm boy whose leg was broken when he got kicked by the family mule. The neighbors said to the father, Oh! That’s terrible! Now your son can’t help with the chores. But when a war broke out the following week and all the boys were sent off to fight, the neighbors then said, What a blessing! Your son’s injury kept him home safe!

The point to this story is that events are not good or bad in and by themselves. A broken leg—or a broken heart—can go from positive to negative and back again when framed in a different light. Or viewed as part of the bigger picture.

As Jodi says, It’s all a matter of attitude.

And we all know it. But most of us need a lot of reminding. That’s why we have all those time-worn fables or Hollywood movies or evolved spiritual teachers and $250/hr psychologists.

Personally, I’m glad I have Jodi. And now, with the publication of her first book, so do you.

Known by many as the Mother of Reinvention, Jodi is a petite, vibrant, radiant pistol with an innate talent for turning the bitter into the sweet. She’s made a life study and daily practice of reinventing her thoughts, feelings, and life, one minute at a time. And trust me. She’s got it down. I’ve seen her in action.

Jodi bravely embraced every lemon dumped in her lap or kicked at her rear… carefully squeezed out all the lessons she could . . . . and skillfully created something worthwhile and positive for others in her same situation. I know of no better guide for single parents than the extraordinary and beautiful Jodi Seidler, The Mother of Re-Invention.

She a woman of unfailing integrity, wit, and compassion, with a rare ability to squeeze each of life’s lemons into a positive lesson, meaningful experience, or hilarious story . . . always perfect for sharing. Just like lemonade.

Making Lemonade©

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When Life Hands You Lemons . . .

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By Jodi Seidler

The Mother of Re-Invention

For Every Parent Who Has Traversed The Challenges

Of Life After Divorce.

Stories, Poetry, and Words of Wisdom!

Dear Reader:

Writing is cathartic; it’s a healing way of giving back while creating a legacy. It is also a lonely art. For me, it has always been a way to get in touch with myself . . . where I