Little story I wrote and sent to him in the mail last month
On a beautiful sunny day in July of 1992, a man and a woman made a pledge in front of all their friends and family and whatever superior being there may or may not be, to love each other for the rest of their lives. They gave each other rings to symbolize this promise. They made this promise for the times with no money and for those with plenty. They made this promise for the amazing times ahead and for the rougher ones. They made this promise knowing that things would never be perfect but that together, they could get through anything. They knew that there would be times of sickness and times of health but that they would honor, cherish and love each other through it all. They did this because they loved each other, and they believed in that love and believed in each other. They believed in being partners for the rest of their lives, and knew that it wouldn't always be as easy as it was on that day, but that their love was once in a lifetime and that if they just trusted in that, they would be happy together forever even if sometimes is seemed like they wouldn't.
Years went by, and they did have times of no money, and sickness. They had times of loneliness and frustration. They moved around the world together, experiencing some amazing things while trading that with time near friends and family. They spent a lot of time apart because of career decisions, but they managed to stay connected in whatever way was possible. They each had to make hard choices and sacrifices to be together but it was worth it for the same reasons it was worth it on that beautiful day in July. Being together, even if it was only emotionally for a lot of the time, was worth all they had to give up because they loved each other and knew and trusted that they were partners in this crazy but amazing life.
As those years went by though, they also had great adventures and travels. They experienced things together that they didn't want or need to share with anyone else in the world. They also had times of health, and plenty of money. They had times where they could spend all day together doing everything or doing nothing. They talked about how lucky they were to have found each other. They made plans for their future together when they wouldn't have to spend so much time apart. They loved, and laughed, and enjoyed the life they had chosen together in spite of the sacrifices.
Many years down the road, something happened to the man. His job was requiring him to be away from the woman more than ever. His life started to have a lot of worries that he wasn't sharing with the woman anymore. They weren't communicating like they always had, working things out together. He started to feel like he was being taken advantage of by the woman and by the others in his life. He was not home very much so the man and the woman rarely had time to talk, love, laugh and reconnect like they had in the past. The man shut her out of his life emotionally.
She felt that he was moving away from her but didn't know how to fix it. She didn't want to make his life harder than it already was, especially when he was away so she kept things as normal as she could, riding out the tough time. She remembered all those things she promised on that day in July and knew that this was just one of those rough times they had promised to get through together. She waited, knowing that soon enough, they would have time together to love, laugh, experience, and get back to where they always had been in the past. She knew that he would share with her his worries and they would be able to get back to their amazing partnership soon. All she had to do was wait.
Suddenly their lives changed. The time she thought they would have together was gone. The man had shut her out of his heart and his head. He would not let her back in no matter how much she begged and pleaded with him. He would not talk to her. He gave her back his ring and broke her heart into a million pieces. He took all the things that she loved about him and hid them from her. He made fun of her, called her names and threatened to hurt her. He pushed her away from his heart so hard that she fell down a big black hole with no way out. She shattered.
She knew that some things were going on with him that he just wouldn't share with her. He was struggling with demons she just didn't know about. Perhaps something big had happened to him while he was away one time and it was something he was trying to bury deep inside of himself. Unfortunately it was not working, it was eating him up. Perhaps he was scared or worried about their future. Perhaps he saw himself growing older and wasn't ready for it. Perhaps he felt that by pushing the woman away, he was saving her from something he didn't want her to see, but what he didn't realize was that she made a promise, a promise for life to be there for him, to love him, to help him, to be his partner. She wasn't going to disappear, she wasn't going away…..she would be there for him. She would help him through whatever it was that he was going through. She would love him in spite of the way he broke her heart. She hoped with all her being that he could see this and that he would let her help him, love him, and be there for him. She had made a promise. So she wore their rings for the both of them, and she waited.
