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The Messy, Beautiful Truth of Starting Over in Love
Old Wounds, New Beginnings, & The Surprising Truths Along the Way
He turns out the bathroom light after brushing his teeth. This is usually the dog’s signal to jump from the bed and tuck into his crate for the night. Both the dog and I are surprised when he doesn’t crawl under the covers like he normally does. Instead, he props himself up on the bed, with his head facing away from me.
The dog is confused. It’s a cue he doesn’t recognize.
Sorry, dog, neither do I.
“What’s wrong?” I ask as I put my arms around him. I can tell something is happening, but I’m not sure what it is.
My heart starts to race. Not too far in our past was a heart attack that came out of nowhere and disrupted our normal routine. That trauma for me still lingers just below the surface; my body is trained to be on high alert when even the slightest hint of behavior outside of what’s normal is emitted from my typically strong and happy-go-lucky husband.
He doesn’t answer.
He’s hesitating. It doesn’t look like he’s in any physical distress. I ask again and wait.
That’s when it comes tumbling out of him — a mess of emotions and feelings, raw and unfiltered. The spill out…
