WillThink4Wine

I used to have a little red plastic suitcase, left over from my childhood sleepovers. It held all my special memories and all my hopes for the future.

That’s where I saved all of the love notes Mr. X wrote to me while we were in Junior High and High School. I also kept all the ticket stubs from movies and concerts, napkins from restaurants, all the little mementos of our 5 years of dating before we got married. It even has some wedding souvenirs in it and some pictures.
When Mr. X and I divorced and I moved out, I had forgotten all about it. It was in the spare bedroom closet. I asked him for it years ago. He’s since remarried, sold the house and moved.

I wonder… What are the odds that he still has it?

Tags: Aging Gracefully, Mr X, Random Thoughts, Simple Pleasures

Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom; mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.~Lao Tzu

The last part of that quote… I’m not even close to mastering anything. No strength or power here, I’m afraid.

I’m a work in progress. I’m not easy.

I’m pretty good when it comes to knowing others. I almost always get a feeling soon after meeting somebody for the first time. I have learned to trust my first impression and my own instincts. I’ve always been sorry when I didn’t. I’m a good listener and people usually feel very comfortable talking to me. Sometimes what they say falls under the heading of “more than I wanted to know”, but that’s OK.

Actually, I’m much better at knowing others than I am at knowing myself. I didn’t really get serious about figuring myself out until I realized my 21 year marriage was a complete failure. I had to take a really close look at myself to determine what part I had played in that. Ultimately, I claimed nearly all the blame. I realized that before I’d ever gotten married, I knew in my heart of hearts that it wasn’t what I wanted. I went into it knowing he had anger issues, didn’t want kids, didn’t share my faith, but I pushed that all away. I actually believed I could “Cure Him”! I was young, foolish and in love. I settled for less; less than I deserved and it was also less than Mr X deserved.

It’s been 14 years since the divorce and I’m still working on knowing myself. So I certainly wouldn’t say I’ve attained true wisdom just yet, but I’m working on it.

Tags: Mr X, Random Thoughts, Wisdom

175 WORDS CHALLENGE

I met him when we moved into our new house. My cousin told me he lived next door to her. He and his older brother were “volunteered” by my uncle to do some of the heavy lifting.

It was the first time I ever noticed a boy!

He was tall and dark, not at all handsome, unless you think dorky and be-speckled is handsome. He was the second oldest in his family of six. I found myself doing stupid things in front of him, tripping, stumbling, dropping, tongue tied and talking too much. I was in crush.

As tired as I was that day, I was sad to see it end because that meant he had to leave my house. I wondered if I’d ever see him again, maybe at my cousin’s house. I wondered if he felt any of the same feelings.

We slept that night on mattresses on the floor. Morning came and my MotherDear came in to wake us for breakfast. She lifted my blanket and said to me “That boy is downstairs asking for you.”

• 175 Words
• 917 Characters

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ARE YOU UP FOR THE CHALLENGE? YOU CAN DO IT!
DIRECTIONS FOR THE CHALLENGE:

Firstly, click on the link provided below. While there at the site, type your life’s event in the box provided. Total your words. Your entry MUST meet the challenge of 175 words!! NO LESS!!!! Must be 175 words at least!! If it’s not, it doesn’t qualify. Then, copy and paste your life’s event to your blog and place your total of words - the exact count into your blog entry also. That’s it!

If you want to try the challenge go to Hootin Anni’s HERE.

I’d like to know you’ve done the meme challenge for fun. If you do, please come back and tell me in the comments section!! I’ll come by for a visit.

Tags: Mr X, Random Thoughts, Simple Pleasures

I personally do not know anybody who has actually had an amicable divorce, as I did. Mr. X and I remain friends, albeit distant (we don’t even live in the same state anymore). In fact, my parents still miss him, especially my Dad.

After dating 5 years, I married my high school sweetheart. We certainly thought it would be As the years passed, we did less and less together, each following our own hobbies and pastimes. Soon, we even developed separate friends. Eventually we began taking separate vacations. During those last few years, we essentially shared morning coffee and the occasional supper.

Thirteen years ago, after 21 years of marriage, we decided to go our separate ways. We spent our last night together crying and hugging each other all through the night. Loving each other was never our problem. We did not hire attorneys. We did not fight over possessions. Because we were not fortunate enough to be able to have children, there was no child-custody issue. We harbored no ill-will towards the other. Total cost of our divorce? $120.00.

We each hugged and said goodbye to our oldest and dearest friend outside the courthouse. We wished each other health and happiness. It remains the single hardest thing I have ever done.

Mr. X has since remarried, this time to someone who shares many of his interests. He is now “Grandpa” to his step-daughter’s son. He is happy.

While I have remained single, I am quite content with my life. I’m not saying that I will never remarry, but I rather doubt it. I’ve gotten very ’settled’ and quite used to having everything exactly as I like it.

So Mr. X, be well. Oh, and Dad says “hi”.

Cheers to you!

Tags: Mr X, Music, Wine