Middle school is one of the most emotionally-charged seasons in every human’s life. Bringing up this rite of passage, from elementary age to high school, is always a good way to create lively conversation between adults. Although it’s a season of life that most of us are glad to leave behind, there’s just something about sharing those vivid, awkward memories that make us both laugh and cringe all at the same time.

So you’ve just spent hours in the Target dorm room aisles… Shopping for color-coordinated linens and accessories for your daughter’s new dorm room. Or, if it’s your son, you were probably trying to convince him that he actually needs a bedspread to go along with his trunk full of technology (that will absolutely make it into his new “college student man cave”).

Who really wants to live this life simply performing the tasks before us? Each day feeling like the last, with the alarm ringing to interrupt the only peaceful time in many of our days, we start again. We shut off that nuisance of a sound, often after multiple snooze hits, to roll out of bed and begin our routine. Our morning lists are diverse and may include nudging the spouse in bed to make sure he gets in the shower when you’re out, or several attempts at waking the children.

In the words of Samuel Johnson, remarriage is, “The triumph of hope over experience.” Hope should remain that a healthy second marriage can be found. To do that, here are a few tips to ponder before taking that next, fateful step.

So you’re on the mom road. The one that is filled with every emotion—fear, joy, frustration, laughter, angst, and frenzy all colliding within the same 30-minute window of your day. You want to teach your child what they need to live; you want to be great at this job, but some days you just shake your head at the places you find yourself.