When Parents are Divorced: How to Make Parents Weekend Work

A week before my significant other and I arrived on campus for Parents Weekend, I called my younger son to find out which night we could take him to dinner. Four weeks later, I looked around my freshman’s cramped dorm room at him, his dad, his dad’s fiancee, and my boyfriend sitting inches from each other like strangers trapped in an elevator.

As a divorced mom, I realized this was not going to be the Parents Weekend I had expected. I also realized claustrophobia is real.

My boyfriend and I...