“When I met my husband, the most stable man I’d ever encountered, I immediately said ‘I do.’ But we hadn’t even made it to year 7 of marriage yet, and I was itchy. Here’s why. Prior to this dream vacation, I woke up to my nightmare.”
‘My husband and I took a trip. It was our first vacation together in 2 years. Long before his heart, and our world, stopped.’
‘We sound like the beginning of a bad joke. A Black, Transracial, Mennonite Adoptee and a White Mennonite Midwesterner walk into a bar…’
“Eight years ago, I got in a car at midnight to eat bad cheese fries at a sketchy truck stop. I took a chance to be vulnerable with someone I didn’t know. And, it changed my life.”
‘I got with my boyfriend in July. By November, I was pregnant. We had been ‘irresponsible.’ We dealt with it. I convinced myself I’d killed my baby. I couldn’t look at my daughter without crying.’
“The thing is, I also got pregnant many years before at age 24. It was the first time I’d had unprotected sex, and I had split up with the father. Having a termination was my only option. This has hugely troubled me the past 3 years, but I’m not ashamed to talk about it.”
‘My girlfriend and I were scuba diving. There was an accident. I went too deep for too long. She held her breath, and stopped breathing shortly after. She was declared dead.’
“She came to introduce herself, but I was avoiding any contact. The moment my eye caught a glimpse of her though, I knew she would be trouble for me. She was so elegant, but I wanted nothing to do with women. I was rebuilding myself after a life changing accident.”
‘Let’s face it, I met Sophie by swiping right on Tinder, to get laid. But there she was, smiling with the reddest lipstick in the world. When you know, you know.’
“I told my friend, ‘I’m not going.’ It was weird I hadn’t heard from him. She told me, ‘Just go. He’s cute and French.’ I’m so glad I did. We got back to my place, had a drink and our first kiss. From that night on, he never left.”
‘Justin asks them to take our picture. ‘One more?’ REALLY GET THE BACKGROUND.’ He drops to one knee. All 3 guys start screaming: ‘SAY YES!! DID YOU JUST DO THAT?! THAT’S EPIC!!’
“Halfway through our ceremony, who crashes the wedding? OUR ENGAGEMENT FRIENDS. The vulgar lyrics were blasting. LOUD. During the prayer. I cannot make this up. My husband and I locked eyes, and we knew. We knew it was them. Our wedding guests look on, HORRIFIED.”
‘I don’t know why your husband’s in pain, he has no meningitis.’ I’ll never forget when the nurse angrily said this to me when I told her my husband said his head feels like it’s on fire.’
“When I got back nurses and doctors were running in his room, yelling ‘code blue!’ I wasn’t allowed in the room – they were intubating him. I felt like someone kicked me in the stomach. I was sobbing.”
‘Yes, I am a single, widow in her 40s. I know that can be tough to deal with. But frankly, I am tired of hearing, ‘I don’t think I can ever live up to him.’
“There’s something about ‘dating a widow’ that is so hard, and so intimidating for men. They struggle with the idea that a woman can develop feelings for somebody while still loving a man who has passed away.”
‘I was cleaning my wedding ring. I’m a ‘guys’ guy. My hands stay banged up and dirty. I work on cars, the yard, they get dirty. My ring bares the brunt.’
“Friends have asked why I take the time to clean it when it will get dirty and no one will notice a difference. ‘You’re the man, no one cares how pretty your ring is’. Here’s the thing. IT. DOES. MATTER. Why?”
‘His dad said loudly, ‘Oh hush, you were worse. You know? You would scream so loud, run up and down the tables, throw things. Your mother and I stopped going out because of you.’
One of the kids stood up on the chair and said a big ‘hello!’ The guy immediately looked down, and wouldn’t look up. The kid was trying to get his attention and say hi, but the guy looked at his partner and rolled his eye