He had been in a 30+ year relationship that had steadily deteriorated over many years. There was counseling. There were many discussions and agreements between he and his wife about what should be done to remedy the problems. These agreements never worked out.
His parental role was eroded. The children were acting out. The marriage was in trouble.
He finally had to make a decision---should he remain in a bad marriage and stay financially stable? Or should he leave and experience life as he suspects God wants? Shakespeare's line repeatedly came into his mind--- "To be or not to be...."
Finally, after years of introspection and agony, he saw a lawyer. He filed for divorce. The children were grown and they understood the situation, even if they were not happy about it.
He moved into a rental home. He worked his job. He came home to an empty home, but there was a peace about it that was comforting. Months passed. The divorce was final. He was at peace.
One night he was feeling lonely. He went on-line to a pen pal website. He posted this ad:
"SWM, 55, seeks lady for pen pal".
The next day, there were 15 E-Mails from across the country, from women wanting to correspond. He answered about three of them---the ones with the best, most well thought out messages. The ones with proper grammar and punctuation.
He finally decided one of the three was really the most appealing to him, so he began writing to her daily. He looked forward to her daily letters. He was becoming attracted to her, and it felt good to know that it seemed she felt the same way about him.
After a couple of months, they exchanged photographs. He spent the day fretting over whether her picture would be as attractive as he had pictured her in his mind. He later found out that she had spent the day worrying over the same thing.
When he saw her picture, he was pleased to know that she was just as beautiful as he had imagined.
They decided to meet for dinner. She brought pictures of her life to share. He was falling in love.
And that, my friends, is how I met my wife. We have been married almost 8 years, and I have been happier than I could ever have imagined. All because I was lonely one evening and thought I wanted a pen pal. I got a wife instead.
Call these the music, poetry, fact and fiction of a dreamer....Call this LYRICS of LOVE and LORE.
I am such a sucker for love stories that have happy endings. Here's to the power of the pen :-). Have a great day, Clint. Blessings...Mary
ReplyDeleteThat is so beautiful. I'm so happy for you. God bless you and your wife :)
ReplyDeleteIn my wildest dreams, I could have never imagined that I would find a husband in this manner. Truly, at the time, I was just thinking it would be nice to have a pen pal. I do think it being AOL Pen Pals and not a match making site that there were no expectations for romance, the relationship happened more naturally with us writing at first about daily life.
ReplyDeleteSo sweet. And yes, that fear of the unknown, of being alone, of being unsettled, of unsettling things keep a lot of people in a bad marriage. I'm glad your life (your 2nd life) has a happy story!
ReplyDeleteWow, what a story. I am so happy all worked out for you. Your right, that financially stable part keeps many people in bad marriages. You just never know what life has in store for you.
ReplyDeleteYou Clint was lucky, I'd been a widow for 9 yrs got over my grief once I accepted what fate thrown at me and decided it was time to start living again.
ReplyDeleteI was on the internet one night (I was living in Spain at the time) saw a site which introduced lonely people. One person I felt drawn to so I emailed the appropriate address.
He got in touch with me, after a few months of chatting on the phone and emailing and as I was going to the UK to visit my children we decided to met. He was charming, every bit the perfect gentleman, we met a few more times and months later decided to move in together, found an apartment and all was well until 6 months later he retired.Then came the violence and the long empty silences, the hours I spent walking on the beach , The children saw the bruises and advised me to move out, my son in Spain told me If ever you visit me DON'T BRING HIM, well I moved out and once again on my own but have peace of mind.
I am pleased you and your wife worked out well....some don't.
Yvonne---My heart goes out to you. When I met Cindy on the internet, it was in the early days of the 'net, and there were many stories floating around about how easy it would be to get in trouble by meeting someone that way. There were many "scare" stories. You are right---we were lucky it worked out the way it did. God bless you, dear lady.
ReplyDeleteHow romantic and I wish you all the luck for the rest of you life.
ReplyDeleteNot always you can find the perfect match, and unfortunately in these days a lot of liars and fraudsters are on there way.
Wow, I thought is about a movie or something!
ReplyDeleteMama mia...you have to post this again for Valentine's day...
The best real story I have ever read!
My compliments, my friends!
I wish you a happy life together!