Perspective and thankfulness
1998. I was living with the crazy in North Carolina. The day I was going to leave him, I woke up and knew I had to move quick. I had only a few hours to pack up and get out of there. But, I closed my eyes for a moment and desperately wished that I could wake up and find that everything that had happened since things had gone bad had just been a dream. I wanted to go back to the wonderful person I had believed he was (though I now know I never really had any good reason to believe that). I hadn't planned for life beyond this relationship.
What if I could have known that in another part of the same state, there was someone else who had also moved there from Michigan? He also wouldn't be staying much longer. He was starting to miss the girl he had been dating back home. So, he would go back for a visit. She would end up pregnant. So, he would be back in Michigan permanently and end up in bitter custody battles with someone he now referred to as "that psycho".
Years later, I would be involved with him for just a short time. And, well....he would turn out to be kind of an asswipe.
If I could, I suppose I would have told my younger self, "Don't worry. Life goes on and you'll have the chance to be with more asswipes."
After leaving North Carolina, I was now back in Michigan. I felt completely out of it and not sure what to do next.
Nearby, at the same time, someone else was getting married. It wouldn't end so well.
Only a month after his divorce was final, he would meet me. It was the night before Thanksgiving, 2006.
It was off and on for awhile. Then, it was on...
It's strange, but I don't think I knew that people like him existed until I met him. And, I can't believe I used to put up with so much I took for granted. Knowing him has made me raise my standards for people.
Does that mean this is a happy ending? I can never know for sure. But, if it didn't work out and I would probably think it was the end of the world, I just hope I would remember that I really never know. You never know what's coming next.
What if I could have known that in another part of the same state, there was someone else who had also moved there from Michigan? He also wouldn't be staying much longer. He was starting to miss the girl he had been dating back home. So, he would go back for a visit. She would end up pregnant. So, he would be back in Michigan permanently and end up in bitter custody battles with someone he now referred to as "that psycho".
Years later, I would be involved with him for just a short time. And, well....he would turn out to be kind of an asswipe.
If I could, I suppose I would have told my younger self, "Don't worry. Life goes on and you'll have the chance to be with more asswipes."
After leaving North Carolina, I was now back in Michigan. I felt completely out of it and not sure what to do next.
Nearby, at the same time, someone else was getting married. It wouldn't end so well.
Only a month after his divorce was final, he would meet me. It was the night before Thanksgiving, 2006.
It was off and on for awhile. Then, it was on...
It's strange, but I don't think I knew that people like him existed until I met him. And, I can't believe I used to put up with so much I took for granted. Knowing him has made me raise my standards for people.
Does that mean this is a happy ending? I can never know for sure. But, if it didn't work out and I would probably think it was the end of the world, I just hope I would remember that I really never know. You never know what's coming next.