Worried For Our Mom

My parents got divorced when I was 13 and my brother was 14 and we have always lived with our mom and saw our dad some weekends when he wasn’t busy with his girlfriends. We are now 17 and 18 and our mom has not been out on one single date, that we know about. She always wanted to set a good example for us and it seems like she put her own life on hold like permanently. My brother and I are not children any more and we want our mom to be happy. The real concern that my brother and I have is that we do not want our mom to be alone, ever. How can we help her?

I am not so sure that your mom needs help however you and your brother may want to ask her what she envisions for herself when you and your brother are ready to leave home. It is very possible that she has an entire plan all laid out for herself. She may be very pleased that you are interested in knowing what is ahead for her down the road. If she has not begun to think about this just yet, your question could be the very thing that gets her attention as she begins to think about herself and even the possibility of including someone special to share the next part of her life with. The best thing to do is to begin an open and loving dialogue with your mom about her desires and her dreams as she moves into the next exciting part of her life.