"Eighteen months ago, I decided to pack up my life in Michigan and move to Hawaii to raise my daughter with the help of my ex-husband's family. The decision was 80% about what was best for my daughter, 10% about being done with Michigan winters and wanting to reconnect with my island girl ways, and 10% because that was the plan before I divorced her dad."
"One thing was already in motion that even the divorce couldn't stop: his yearlong deployment overseas. I knew that to get through this, I would need extra support, and to get that, I would have to move. I'd been away from my family for a decade and wanted to see what it'd be like to be a solo parent within a family village."
Eighteen months ago I moved from Michigan to Hawaii to raise my daughter with help from my ex-husband's family. The choice was driven mostly by what would be best for my daughter, plus escaping harsh Michigan winters and honoring a pre-divorce plan. A yearlong deployment by my ex intensified the need for extra support, and living within a family village felt essential. I had been away from my own family for a decade and rejected returning to Idaho. Hawaii offered cultural connection for my Polynesian daughter, dependable extended-family support, and personal nostalgia for island life.
Read at Business Insider
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