I didn't give up on love.

After being a single parent for 5 years I got remarried in 2003. I had met my present husband in 2000. We were just friends as I had just gotten past the "Dating shame" period of my life. After that bad experience (never date a guy thirteen years younger and toting excess baggage) I had sworn off dating and was happy hanging out with the people I worked with and my single parents group. After I met Jim that feeling of no men allowed changed. I genuinely liked him. He was a divorced father of four and knew how getting rejected hurt. We usually went for coffee and swapped ex-spouse stories and talked about our kids. We took my daughter out for New years eve that year. Our coffee outings changed to Junior A hockey games and movies. He joined the single parents group. Things progressed to an exclusive dating arrangement. We got a long well and hardly ever argued.  I was invited to his family events and my mom fed us when ever possible. She liked him too, and he her. In the fall of 2002 I had a medical emergency and he was there all the way.  A few months later we were engaged and got married in August 2003. We celebrate nine years of wedded craziness this year and it makes me glad that my previous romantic disasters hadn't soured me on love.