Staying Together ‘For The Kids’ Isn’t Always A Bad Thing

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“A year ago, I told my husband I didn’t want to be married anymore.

Through tear-filled eyes and a breaking heart, he asked what that would mean for our kids and told me we owed it to them to do everything in our power to keep our family together.

Boyfriend holds baby girl and reads her a story.
Courtesy of Emmy Bennett

‘Don’t stay together for the kids,’ were the words that immediately came to mind.

I feel like I have heard that saying time and time again, and even worse is the fact that we currently live in a society of, ‘If it no longer serves you, have the courage to walk away.’

But my goodness, how thankful I am that I didn’t.

That our kids were and still are the glue that have kept us together time and time again.

How lucky am I to have something so worth fixing, with someone who isn’t willing to give up on me.

On us.

On our kids.

Because without them, walking away might have been easy.

Giving up might have been easy.

Putting up a wall instead of working through the discomfort and imperfections and challenges of marriage might have been easy.

Blended family takes picture together at the beach.
Courtesy of Emmy Bennett

And looking back, I guess it was less about ‘staying together for the kids’ and more about working on ourselves FOR the kids.

Strengthening our marriage for the kids.

Digging deep and doing the work it takes to model healthy and unconditional love for our kids.

So, I guess all I’m saying is maybe it’s time to ditch the idea that staying together for the kids is a bad thing and embrace the idea that sometimes, they’re the best reason in the world to stay.

With love, from a once happily divorced and now remarried mom who has learned the difference between knowing when to leave and knowing when it’s time to fight for a marriage (because I do still think there’s a difference).”

Couple takes selfie together on date.
Courtesy of Emmy Bennett

This story was submitted to Love What Matters  by Emmy Bennett from Oakdale, California. You can follow her journey on  Instagram and her website. Submit your own story hereand be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.

Read more from Emmy here:

‘Once I was able to identify the source of my unhappiness, I was able to focus on ways to remember who I was.’: Mom shares importance of self-care in decreasing bitterness

‘Sometimes babies cry. As long as they’re changed and fed, they don’t always need to be figured out.’: Mom shares newborn parenting advice

‘Blended does not equal broken.’: Mom recounts beautiful blended family, co-parenting journey

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