Dedicated to a Recently Separated Mom

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Last night, the school choir that my daughter sings in, had a performance at a community fund-raiser. Several moms volunteered for the event to help assemble the choir and get them prepared with their choir outfits. I was among those mothers.

There was another mom there whom I can identify, but am not friendly with as we have had no real reasons to talk over the years because our children are not friends. Last night she seemed somewhat out of it, not participating in helping with the choir, and later she was sitting and I asked if she was okay -- she just didn't look right, so I thought she might be feeling ill.

She appreciated my asking and said she was fine but that she had a lot on her mind. A pause or two later, she repeated that she had a lot on her mind. And then she went on to tell me that she and her husband had recently separated and that there was lots to think about. With four growing children, yes, that's lots to think about. I told her that I was sorry to hear that, and even if I don't know someone and I hear about divorce or separation I feel sad for the people and their families.

So, to that mom, who's recently separated, and to others in relationships who've severed the ties, here are the lyrics to a most beautiful song written by Johnny Mandell. It's called "Where Do You Start?"

Where do you start?
How do you separate the present from the past?
How do you deal with all the things you thought would last?
That didn't last;
With bits of memories scattered here and there
I look around and don't know where to start

Which books are yours?
Which tapes and dreams belong to you and which are mine?
Our lives are tangled like the branches of a vine
That intertwine
So many habits that we'll have to break,
and yesterdays
we'll have to take apart

One day there'll be a song or something in the air again
To catch me by surprise, and we'll be there again,
A moment in what might have been...
Where do you start?
Do you allow yourself a little time to cry?
Or do you close your eyes and kiss it all goodbye?
I guess you'll try

And though I don't know where and don't know when
I'll find myself in love again
I promise there will always be
A little place no one will see
A tiny part deep in my heart
That stays in love with you.