Her life is hers to navigate, as much as mine is mine

We met at work in 1998. She had two kids and I had three, and our youngest were still in diapers. We married in 2004.

She had always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, so she stopped working then. After that she fell into a deep depression, and she missed much of the kids growing up.

I chose to stay. I supported her as best I could, and I did my own growing alongside it. There is a great deal I am leaving out, and leaving it out isn’t entirely fair to either of us.

The truth is, I loved her dearly, even still do. She meant the world to me, and I spent years doing everything I could to show up in a way that would support her. I learned over the years that I didn’t have what it took. Her life is hers to navigate as much as mine is mine.

We remain on good terms today. Probably even better now. I know that she will always be part of my life. We’ve been through a lot together and I will always value and cherish that.