I used to not have to worry about such things — I was married and living in Portland, Maine, where my husband was stationed in the Navy. But 12 years ago, I made the decision to leave my marriage. I was a Southern girl with strong family values and parents who made their marriage work by any means necessary. Single motherhood was never part of my plan. But with my newborn baby girl in my arms, I hopped on an Independence Airlines plane to the Washington area, where my parents had planted roots two years prior. The area also provided more professional opportunities in public relations, which I studied at the University of Florida.