For my 31st birthday, my mother-in-law gifted me divorce papers. “From all of us,” she announced at the restaurant. My husband recorded my reaction for their entertainment. I thanked her, signed them immediately, and walked out. She had no idea what I’d already done…

“I keep praying he’ll come to his senses before it’s too late. He’s such a good boy, and he deserves someone who can enhance his life rather than hold him back.”

Standing in my own hallway, listening to my mother-in-law pray for my marriage’s destruction, I finally understood that acceptance was never going to be possible. Margaret didn’t just disapprove of my job. She disapproved of my existence in David’s life.

The battle I’d been fighting was rigged from the beginning, designed to wear me down until I either transformed completely or disappeared entirely.

The morning after hearing Margaret’s devastating phone conversation, I sat at my laptop with renewed determination. If she was praying for David to leave me, I’d prove her wrong by becoming the professional woman she claimed he deserved.

The job search websites glowed on my screen as I created profiles on every platform I could find—LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, and smaller local employment sites. My resume looked pathetic spread across one page: three years at Romano’s restaurant, a high school diploma, and scattered customer service experience from part-time jobs during school.

I stared at the blank sections where college degrees and professional accomplishments should have been, feeling Margaret’s voice echo in my head about real qualifications and proper preparation. I rewrote my job descriptions five times, trying to make serving tables sound like executive experience.

Managed multiple client relationships simultaneously while maintaining high satisfaction ratings. Coordinated complex service delivery under time-sensitive conditions.

Continue reading…