Free at Last? Now what?

I have had so many friends and family who have gotten divorces and the first thing they wonder is, "what's next?" It has got to be hard to pick up the pieces after divorce. As I have said before, I wondered how divorce would impact my life. However there are many women who feel a sense of freedom, and liberation from whatever hardships that may have developed within the marriage. But what happens socially after the division?
  

Some say that their social life becomes more exciting. When you think about it, being single again may have its advantages. For one, and I think this is the most significant one for most  newly divorced women, you get to date again. Now that can be troublesome for those who have been out of the dating scene for a while. I certainly wouldn't know what to do on a date these days! However, for those that conquer this fear, congrats!

Now, there are those girlfriend weekend getaways that always seem to help! Hopefully, you never stopped having those weekends when you were married! Girlfriends can be  major assets when going through difficult times.

But what about church and mutual friends of you and your former spouse? What happens to those relationships? I could imagine it would be difficult to say the least to continue in a congregation that has always known you as husband and wife, and now has to adapt to the division. Do you switch churches? Does he switch? Also, what happens to the parts of his family that you were once close to? How do you break those bonds, or do you, should you? Mutual friends may also find it difficult to socialize with one or the other ex-spouse. How do you  handle the change in relationships?

For some women, these are questions that they have to answer after divorce. How would you, or did you handle these questions? What would be your advice to those who may be facing some of these same dilemmas?