|
-
-
|
-
|
--
It has now been two years since Marilyn and I met via
the Internet (match.com), fell
in love, got married and recently celebrated both our first wedding anniversary
and the second anniversary of our meeting.
After five-plus long years of growing up since separating
from my now ex-wife, I finally found the woman who loves the new-and-improved
me. I'm enjoying that wonderful basic need of every human being to
love and be loved. Life is so very good again!
Going through those lonely years of being single again
following a marriage that lasted for over thirty-plus years was difficult,
to say the least. Even though I filled up my spare time going to
singles dances, dating women most every weekend, and enjoying several short-term
relationships, the yearning for a full-time partner was sorely missed.
Even more disconcerting was the financial loss.
I was broke most of the time. Not only that, but I had to start over
again in a new city and a new career. Working for a temp agency after
having to leave my long stint in a vocation that I truly enjoyed and loved
was part of all that I lost through the divorce process. However,
despite the challenges, I simply tightened my belt and determined to make
the best of it.
My first assignment working in the Amazon.com wharehouse
just about killed me. At fifty years of age, working on a night shift
line packaging books was something best left to much younger people.
After two nights of doing that, I contacted the temp agency to request
another assignment.
They placed me on a temp team working for a large credit
card company. |
-
-
I walked into my new assignment a very scared man.
My income had been cut in half. The house we had custom built was
up for sale. My soon-to-be ex-wife was even more afraid as she had
been a stay-at-home wife for most of our marriage and had little marketable
skills to offer the work force. Despite our differences, we both
felt for each other regarding the drastic financial down-turn we were experiencing,
not to mention the even more devistating emotional trauma of our separation.
As I walked into the second floor of one of the buildings
occupied by the credit card company, the manager who greeted me was the
same age as my oldest son. All I can tell you is that David turned
out to be the best thing that could have happened during those very desparate
days. He recognized my abilities and got me hired into the bank just
six weeks later. David was promoted a year later. I was promoted,
too. In fact, I got David's job. Isn't life amazing at times.
That was six years ago. Since then, I have maintained
a middle management position, survived two mergers, been relocated by the
company to a much better part of the country, and become a respected and
accomplished expert in my special part of the business. Although,
not a high management position, the income afforded me was enough to survive
the divorce and keep my head above water through the worst years of my
life.
In fact, I still have the pair of shoes that I wore that
very first night as a temp. The souls eventually split during the
time I was first hired in to the company. I did not have any money
to spend on replacing them. As a result, I would take them off after
sitting down at my desk to work and let them dry out under it on those
rainy or snowy days when they would be soaked on the inside. I kept
them as a reminder of those first very difficult days when I had to learn
how to coast my car as much as possible to save gas lest I not make it
home each evening. |
-
-
After two-and-a-half years of sharing a house with another
divorced guy, the company relocated me. It was just another one of
those breaks that those who plunge ahead in life experience due to hard
work and making the best of each day. If there is one lesson to be
learned about the single-again experience, it is that of staying focused
on becoming stable again while determining to get ahead with hard work
So, I found myself living in a clean new modern city in a nice apartment
and more than able to pay all of my bills (including my spousal support
payments).
Little by little, I went from barely keeping my head above
water to being both emotionally and financially stable again. As
I began to get out more, enjoy regular weekend dating, and still end up
with a few bucks in my pocket, life started becoming good again.
Then, there was Marilyn.
Our first week of getting to know each other was the stuff
of dreams. The word "clicked" would be an understatement. It
was electric! From the first e-mail contact to our first date together,
we both simply fell in love with each other. Asking her to marry
me came easy for a man who was looking for someone very special.
I found her.
That was already two years ago. Since then we have
been engaged, married, and have celebrated our first anniversary together.
We've worked through the major adjustments and are settling into being
a happily married couple.
Having lost so much those several years ago, I now have
a wonderful wife who loves me as I do her. We purchased a very nice
home. I've even got a toy car to play with that sits in my garage
just for fun. We do everything together from enjoying day trips to
going to church every Sunday. Whether it is attending a concert,
working on the house together, or watching the sun go down while we talk
about life and cuddle up on the sofa, one thing is more than obvious.....
I am home again! |
|
© all rights reserved - 9/12/2005
|
-
-
|
-
|
-
-
-
-
The mission of this not-for-profit website is to promote clear insights
and toleration regarding the many variations of primary relationships that
exist in our world. We ask for neither acceptance or approval but
hope that each visitor who reviews the pages of this site will leave them
with a better understanding of the numerous cultural, historical, preferential,
religious, sexual, and sociological approaches to coupling that have always
existed and will continue to exist as long as there are at least two human
beings living on this planet. If the effort put into creating and
maintaining this site results in others coming to the realization that
the basic human need to love and be loved takes on many forms which are
accepted by those who practice them, whether right or wrong as determined
by the personal belief system of others, then it will have served it's
purpose well. |
-
|
