It's never easy, but sometimes divorce is the best thing, for you, your husband and your children.
After all, kids won't benefit from being raised in a household of constant tension and unhappiness.
But even still, breaking the news to your child that mum and dad are splitting up is never easy. It's even harder when the child is just four-years-old.
Knowing that, Laura Lifshitz broke the news as simply as she could to her little girl, but decided to write her a letter too.
The child won't be able to read it yet, but one day, she will, and Laura hopes that she'll grow to understand.
We, on the other hand, just had the pleasure of reading the letter, which Laura wrote for Popsugar.com, and it is seriously heart-wrenching stuff.
"You are old enough to remember Daddy was once in the house when it was the three of us, a little family," she wrote.
Upset by this, Laura is nonetheless comforted by the fact that memories fade, especially for young kids.
"You are young enough still that one day this will be a distant memory, and this comforts me."
She went on to lament the fact that she and the child's dad couldn't make it work, however hard they tried.
"It wasn't just that we had to acknowledge how all our years invested in each other didn't matter."
"It was knowing that no matter what, a part of you will always wish we could all be together and knowing that no matter how hard we wish, we can never make that happen for you."
"And what mother or father likes going ot bed at night knowing she or he can't make a child's wish come true?"
Laura continued stating her hopes that both she and the child's dad will go on to create happy blended families for her.
But she acknowledged that "sometimes the right thing to do isn't always the easiest or most fun thing to do."
As well as lamenting her tough decision, Laura reminded her daughter that although the causes of the split were many, it had nothing to do with their little one.
"You might get the notion that you were at fault for our divorce. It's common for kids to feel this way. Let me nip that in the bud right now, though," she wrote.
"You had nothing to do with our divorce. Even if you flew down and sprinkled magic pixie dust on us, your father and I do not work."
"The divorce has everything to do with who we are, what we both value, how compatible we aren't . . . and nothing to do with how amazing you are. Even if you screamed all day long, every day . . . set our home on fire . . . beat us until we were blue . . . the divorce is not one inch your fault."
She also gave her daughter a bit of relationship advice, to boot.
"When I met your father, I believed I was not a worthy person. Love and happiness were for better people, not me," she wrote.
"And when he chose me, I believed he was better than I was. I thought I needed to be "fixed" up when really I was just fine as I was. Please always believed you are wonderful. No one else gets to decide if you are worthy enough."
But despite those words of advice, Laura went on to admit that she knows her daughter doesn't need to hear them: she's much stronger than her mamma.
"I already know that you are a strong woman. You are one of the only 2-year-olds I know that could tell a 40-year-old man that it 'wasn't his turn yet.'," she wrote.
"I used to think 'Oh, wouldn't it be nice if you were a little more sensitive like me' and then I corrected myself and said 'No. Thank God you aren't sensitive like me.' You are perfectly yourself and will be yourself without apologizing."
"You will not waver on what you think or believe, even if the person next to you wants you to. Men will be afraid of this. Too bad for them. Never, ever alter who you are to please anyone else. There is only one "you," and we love you this way."
Laura finished the letter with a reminder that - hard as it might seem - life is better now that her parents are apart.
"It may stink at times and having two homes is no small feat, but we promise that while this may not feel like a happy ending today, a few tomorrows from now into the future, it will be. Sometimes, even I forget this."
"You may see me cry here and there, although I to put on a brave face. Always know that it's OK to cry and it's OK to grieve, but always move forward and never stop believing."
Reminding us that we can't always be perfect parents, Laura signed it:
"Love, Your Perfectly Imperfect Mother."
Aww. Our hearts are gushing here...
SHARE if this broke your heart.
