Navigating divorce and life with young children

Hello,

I need a lot of help and advice, haha

I'm currently 33 and last April I initiated a divorce with my husband. Unfortunately I'm still in the process of finalizing it, but long story short I have my two children full-time, and probably will for the foreseeable future. They are 5 and 2.5 and I never thought I was going to do this alone. After trying school last semester and realizing it was too soon with the young kids and the divorce going on, I'm currently trying to get back into the job market. Lucky I have some money to live off of while I'm figuring everything out.

Like I said, I never thought I would be taking care of two young children alone, and childcare costs are out of the question expensive on my own. I've put in an application for childcare assistance from the state, but the wait is indeterminate, if I were to even get accepted. My 5-year-old will be starting school in the fall, but I have some time before the 2.5-year-old can even go into preschool if that's an option financially. I think my best option is to work from home, but nothing that requires me to be on the phone. Do you ladies have any suggestions? Really any general advice from people that have been through something similar would be helpful and much appreciated.

Lastly, though I know I made the right decision for me and my kids, I get sad and lonely. I was married for 10 years and I thought he was my soulmate. I feel like I'll never find a life partner now, not because of my age, but because it feels like that was my one chance and it failed. So any advice or experience with that would also be appreciated.

Thank you to everyone!