Once Upon A Time

Most girls dream of their wedding.    I dreamed of being married.

I loved the idea of finding someone to share my life with.  Not someone to be my life, but someone to share my life.  I wanted him to have his own hobbies and friends outside of “us” so that I’d have time to miss him and so we’d always have new stuff to discuss over meals.

I dreamed of growing old with my best friend.  Of sharing a lifetime of memories to carry into our senior years.  Of having that one constant person in your life through the good and the bad who always had your back.  Someone to weather the storms of life and celebrate the joys.

I loved the idea, albeit old fashioned, of taking care of someone.  I liked grocery shopping, cooking, and doing the laundry.

I knew exactly what marriage meant to me and was very upfront about it from the moment the possibility of getting married arose.

I believed that your mate becomes your family.  And you don’t just leave your family when things get rough as so many people do.

I did not believe in divorce.  I made that very clear.

I explained how marriage was hard.  That there would be times when we would hate each other and question why were with each other.  But I also believed you could work through anything.  All you had to do was be willing to try.

It never dawned on me that someone would just not be willing to try.