remember clearly the day I saw the bulletin at the store where I would go every day to eat my lunch. It said, “Are you recently divorced? Having problems struggling with your emotions?” Those words spoke to me. I immediately called and left a message on the answering machine. The man offering the class, Adam, called me back within a few hours. We talked briefly. He said, “I’m having a class next Tuesday, would you like to come over?”
I asked him how many people would be there.
“Oh I don’t know, maybe ten or twelve?”
I thought, “Great, not too many or too few.” I was eagerly awaiting this new chapter in my life—Divorce Class. I had been divorced for about seven months; it was summer, and I was ready for a change.
Tuesday rolled around. I showed up at 7 p.m. sharp to greet my fellow divorcees. I noticed there were only two cars outside, Adam’s and mine. I walked into his house. “Where is everybody?”
“It looks like it’s just you and me,” Adam replied.
I felt like walking out then and there. Perhaps I should have. Adam had been through two divorces—wow! I could not imagine going through this twice. We talked and shared a few good stories. Adam appeared to be a nice enough person, but I soon realized he was more into helping himself than others. Apparently, he started these classes to hear himself talk. I did learn some things from him, but I wanted to attend a class where I could get input from more than one person. That was my first and last divorce class with Adam. The real class came three months later with a lot more in attendance.
This new class happened to be at the old church where I attended when growing up. It was a Catholic class so I asked the instructor if I, no longer a Catholic, could attend.
“No problem, Mike; this class will help anyone.”
This church helped me when I was going through a difficult time in high school, so I decided to try the class.
When I walked into that first class I honestly felt like I was the most screwed up person on earth. “I hope no one laughs at me; what will the women think? Will they judge me? I hope this class will help me.” Somehow, I felt this was going to be a great learning experience.
