Is it humanly possible to drop the rope?

[AntoniaB]

"You didn't? All those stories and history, and you didn't know that could happen? Or you didn't think it would happen to you?"

I have to claim being a total Pollyanna on this one. There was no divorce in my family or in my friends' families growing up, and in our adult married life together my XH and I never encountered any situations where we knew anyone to betray their spouse. Or even girlfriend/boyfriend situations. I had a very drama-free background, honestly, and XH and I kept to ourselves a lot. Our closest friends were all males except one woman and she was in a long-term committed relationship that ended the year our marriage ended and all our other friends were single guys who rarely dated, and if they did, no one knew their business. So it wasn't that it "couldn't happen to me" but that I'd never seen anything traumatic happen to ANYONE, until my coworker lost her husband to the heart attack in 1999. That event really shook me and I remember telling her at the time that it made me very fearful I'd lose my H to a tragic accident or health issue in the same way.

Yeah, AJ, I know it was all very real. I was recalling something my mom said once to me; I was complaining about work or something and she said "I know that's tough but I want you to know something. That time you and your H and I were on vacation a few days, I drove home crying the whole way." I said "why?" She said "for joy. Because I have never seen two people so in love and so happy with one another and I felt priveleged to witness it, and I think even if you have difficulties with work or whatever, you should consider yourself beyond lucky, because no one gets a marriage as good as yours. No one."

Yep, it was real. I'm sure of it :-)