Let’s preface this by saying – this is not at all how I imagined my dating story would go. And, since I’m still mid-story, with no idea how or when the ending will happen, we’re just going to take a peek at what’s transpired so far….
If you’re like me, you won’t start reading a book series until the series is complete because one time you got stuck mid-series and the author appears to have died (??) or disappeared (??) or stopped writing (??) and totally left you hanging. So, continue reading at your own risk, having been fully informed that the series isn’t complete yet!! The first book isn’t even done being written, so you’re in it for the long haul.
Chapter one: early childhood and the ridiculous, unspoken expectation that my story would be an exact replica of my parents’ love story (i.e. high school sweethearts who got married in college – and just celebrated 46 years of marriage!).
Chapter two: the painful junior high years – where you have crushes on guys, but are also towering over them and haven’t quite solved the b.o. problem yet. Read: none of them like you back and the square dancing unit in P.E. is especially painful + awkward.
Chapter three: the high school “boyfriends” (one junior year and one senior year) who were both sweet and funny, but neither of whom I would have had confidence saying was my “boyfriend” because we never really talked about it or officially knew if we were dating, but in both “relationships” we definitely and for sure broke up.
Chapter four: college. My first real love,…or so I thought. Freshman year. Turns out, I fell in love with the idea of what could be, and not actually what was. Got burned. Tried again with the same guy my senior year. Got burned again – but learned this time 🙂
Chapter five: early twenties. Girl meets new friends. Girl falls for one of her new friend’s older brother. Girl plans on marrying said brother. Girl gets dumped. Girl recovers. Girl dates said older brother again about a year later. Relationship ends a second time. Girl remains single while said older brother goes on to get happily married shortly thereafter.
Chapter six: late twenties. I met him at a networking event and we reconnected later that year when he asked me on a date.It was a whirlwind with butterflies and all the feels and a sweet goodbye at the end of our first date, when we both drove two hours back to our respective homes, as we lived across the state from each other. 5 months of crossing the state to spend time together, and then a devastating blow when he said the words that will forever ring in my ears “I can’t support you the way you need to be supported.” While absolutely life-shattering in the moment, it turned out to be one of the biggest blessings of my entire life, because it forced me to see what I hadn’t seen before – that I was living with severe depression and the curtain had been raised. There was no going back. I’ve since thanked him for his care and honesty, or I’ve no idea where I would be if he hadn’t actually shared the reasons why he ended things.
Chapter seven: mid-late 30s (aka “36” / “current times”). Lots of time to focus on Jesus and friendships and building life and enjoying the San Diego sunshine.
(if I were a screenwriter and this were being turned into a television series, I’d definitely write “cue husband” at this exact moment in the chapter 7 scene…..just sayin’)
No idea where I’m at in chapter 7, or if I’m heading into chapter 8, or what’s on the horizon, but I’ll be sure to keep y’all posted as the journey unfolds. You’ve been with me through all of this, and there’s no way I’ll stop mid-series like that one unnamed author did. My honest thoughts? It should be illegal to stop writing mid-series ? #FinishWhatYouStart #IHateCliffhangers #IhaveStrongFeelingsAboutThis
