When I was younger, I believed that if you made it to 20 years in marriage, you were set for life. But after 22 years of marriage and three children, I found myself heading for divorce. It was not what I wanted, and I felt like my world had flipped upside down.
I lost confidence in myself and in love. I had been a wife and mom for so long, I did not know who I was without that. I did not think anyone else would ever find me attractive. Most days, I did not want to get out of bed. I only did what I had to for my kids.
Then one sunny Sunday morning, I told myself, “This is the first day of the rest of my life.” I got up, put on jeans and a yellow t-shirt, fixed my hair and makeup, and left the house. I was not running any important errands I just needed to feel normal again. I ended up at K-mart, looking for shelf liners.
As I was walking through the store, I saw a man standing in the way, looking at his phone. I hoped he had move. But instead, he looked up and gave me a kind compliment. I was surprised and smiled. He walked away, but we kept glancing back at each other.
Later, I was trying on sunglasses when I heard a voice it was him again. He said he had ask me out if I was not wearing a wedding ring. I smiled and said, “that is nice.” But his kindness and respect stayed with me.
Something inside me said, “Take a chance.” I wrote my number on a clothing tag and handed it to him. When he asked, “Aren’t you married?” I replied, “Not for long,” with a smirk.
He called the next day. His name was John. He had two grown kids and had also gone through a divorce. We connected right away. Six years later, the exact day we met, we got married.
Our journey was not easy. I started over, learning to date again, and entering an interracial relationship for the first time. People sometimes stared, but I learned not every stare is negative some are just curious or kind. John and I laugh together, share adventures, and love each other deeply. He saw something in me before I saw it in myself. And yes he was not really looking at his phone in K-mart. He was waiting for me.
