I'm Laura Stasi, and this is Dating While Gray, the grown-ups guide to love, sex, and

relationships. Parenting and dating. Two words we may not be comfortable hearing in the same

sentence, even if our little ones are all grown up. We're exploring how

children may affect romance in love again,

and I found anecdotal evidence to suggest it can be a difficult adjustment.

I read about one woman who was getting married, and she didn't want her

stepmother to sit next to her father, either during the ceremony or at the dinner reception

afterward. Instead, she wanted an empty seat next to her dad in memory of her dearly departed mother.

And one groom was insisting his bride's father and girlfriend not be part of the wedding ceremony at all.

The bride's parents had split, and the groom, he was teen mother-in-law.

Then there was the time I was giving a ride to my son and two friends who were twins.

The boys were all about 15 at the time, and the twins' parents were going through a great divorce.

My son and, let's call him Twin A, they climbed into the car while Twin B lingered outside for a few moments talking on his phone.

When he did get in, he looked so shaken that his brother said, what's wrong? And Twin B said,

Mom has a date tonight. Mom has a date? Oh, shit, said Twin A.

My son even groaned. Just the thought of their mom being anything other than, you know, their mom.

And it's not just hard for kids. It's hard for parents, too. How do we balance personal needs and

desires with our responsibilities as a parent? Should one take precedence over another? And when?

This is a question that Hope is grappling with. That's not her real name. She's an educator

and has four kids. Two are still at home.

Hope told me her divorce derailed her dreams for happily ever after, and it left her feeling

even more pressure to make sure her kids were all right. So Hope felt lucky when a friendship

...