Close Shop, Move On

When the one girl you love most in the world decides your relationship has run its course, it can be a really powerful blow to your entire way of life.  Everything turns upside down and all you know for sure is that you have to get her back.  The road to a reunion is never one hundred percent smooth, but if you follow this advice you'll find that it's a lot simpler than you may at first think.

How do you determine when it's time to end a marriage? I'm not sure if I'm just afraid of being alone, or afraid of losing the marriage? Has anyone had any experience with this and how did you figure it out?

I have kind of a sticky question. An acquaintance of mine recently got a divorce. I see her at church and we exchange smalltalk, but that's about it. My question is, should I bring up the subject? I don't know what to say. I hate to say, "Oh I'm so sorry!" since she might be relieved that it's over. (I don't know her husband at all.) But I certainly would never say "Congratulations!" I'm just worried that it's going to seem awkward not to bring it up, but I don't want to pry into her personal life either.

My husband and I have been going through counseling for over a year, but neither of us is feeling it is making a difference. Our biggest concern through all this is our two teen-age children. They are old enough to know things are not great between their parents, but I doubt they expect that we will divorce. However, I believe that's the direction we are headed in. So, how do we tell them? How do we decide who they will stay with. Do we leave it up to them? Or is it better to have a plan in place before we talk to them? I would welcome any advice anyone can offer. This is all new territory to me.