No One Says It’s Going To Be Easy
Obstacles to overcome or not. Teenage angst. Middle age bitterness. These are some of the things you’ve been writing about.
Mary: “My husband and I worked very hard and made very good money which we saved and saved. We raised four kids and put them all through college. During those years, there were no vacations, no fancy cars, no jewelry, no furs, not even any nice furniture. These things were all dreams deferred. My husband retired and the day our last child graduated from college, he told me he was leaving. His friends fixed him up with some woman who is now going on my vacations - all over the world - living with my nice furniture, driving my fancy car, wearing my jewelry and my furs. And I’m stuck, at 59, in a small apartment, living through this nightmare with very little money and very few employment skills. “
Beth: “When I was 16, I dated a 21-year-old man named Jim for nine months. I thought that the relationship was rather serious, so I decided to quit cheerleading in order to spend time with him after school. The night I called to tell him, a woman answered his phone. Then, when I was 17, I had been dating Ted for six months. He had gone to California to visit his family. When he came back, I wanted to show him how much I loved him. So, with my life savings of $500, I rented a condominium at a resort for the weekend. That night he broke up with me, saying he would rather be with his sweetheart back home. When I was 18, I had been dating Scott for six months when he moved away. We continued to keep in touch. A few months ago, I called to tell him I was coming to see him for Thanksgiving. After a long pause he said, ‘I’m getting married.”’
Carrie: “Four years ago I was working in a restaurant as a waitress. I become very good friends with one of the hosts. We talked about everything. I always thought he was cute but I had one problem. I’m 5 foot 10 inches tall and I’ve always been self-conscious about my height. I swore I would never date anyone who was shorter than me. Craig, the host, was 5 feet 8 inches. When I found out he liked me, I didn’t know what to do because of the height difference. I liked him so much that I decided to say yes when he asked me out. We’ve been together now for three years and I couldn’t be happier. He has made me feel so good about myself that I don’t even notice the height difference anymore.”
Danielle: “I met Frank when we were both 16. He was the dude from the wrong side of the tracks, quite literally. He lived one block away from the train tracks that sliced through the middle of town. He was black and I was white. I fell madly in love and my family came to love him, too. We dated all through the rest of high school. We were one of the first interracial couples. I pictured me spending my whole life with him. Then we went off to college. Frank decided he wanted to be with a black woman and broke up with me. In fact, he rejected me completely and pretty much pretended we never had a relationship. I would see him at football games when we were both home from school and he would look right through me. I still believe he was the love of my life and race broke us up.”
Stan: “I don’t have a lot of patience for people who waste a lot of time looking for their so-called soul mate. They’re usually so self-centered that if their soul mate stood in front of them stark naked, they wouldn’t notice. I don’t think two people are really soul mates until they have a shared history, and the only way to get that is with time, love and patience.”
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