Living with Ex-Husband

Living with Ex-husband

Many people think that Divorce is only about a husband and wife but they fail to realize that children are also involved in the process. Adding a new person into the family or a person moving out of the household makes a big difference for kids. In her personal narrative essay, "The Ex-husband who never left", Stacey Morrison talks about her relationship with her ex-husband after divorce. Though they are divorced, her ex-husband lives in her house most of the time and Morrison claims that it is for her child's welfare. She is in a state of confusion about her ex-husband living in her house. She is not ready to let it go and justifies that his involvement in her family is for his son's sake. But this relationship is going to complicate her child's life. To maintain a balance between her boyfriend and ex-husband she needs to change the set-up in a way to benefit her son's future.

Morrison explains how her after-divorce life has never changed. In spite of their divorce, her ex-husband lives in her house for most of the days and helps her to watch their kid. She also let him stay even when there is no need for baby-sitting. Morrison feels that her life is getting easier with Chris around because he helps her with many things like fixing her stereo. She feels happy that he still orders her favorite food. She is also aware that her boyfriend is little bit concerned about her ex-boyfriend staying with them. Morrison says, ""I feel like he's your husband", my boyfriend said after he and I arrived at my apartment after a night out and bid adieu to Chris" (480). She likes this arrangement because she does not want to be away from her son while he is away with his dad. Morrison let her ex-husband to be a part of all their family activities because she feels that Chris might feel left out.

Morrison's idea of letting her ex-husband to live with her can be accepted only for her son. As a mother, one can understand her feeling of living away from her son. So, she decides to stay let Chris stay with her son. This arrangement will lessen her worries about her son not spending time with his dad. Chris staying with them will also let their son spend some quality time with both the parents instead of shuttling between mom's and dad's house. Morrison also tries to maintain a pleasant relationship with her ex hoping that it would help her son to have a healthy family setup. Morrison's agony can be felt when she says, "…I didn't want to have an entire weekend from Zack twice a month" (481).

Most of her thoughts about her ex-husband cannot be agreed. She is in a clear state of confusion and struggling hard to choose one side. In spite of all the hurt she underwent after divorce, she fails to realize the problems she is going to face with her boyfriend if she let her ex stay