Thursday, July 9, 2009

Starting Over Is Really Not That Bad Ackshually


Hi, Hive - I've missed you ladies! (and gents! - Gents? Do boys read this blog?) :)

Long time no blog - mainly because I was busy crying in my oatmeal. (Kidding - mostly!)

I just got back from my Honeymoon turned Sistamoon, and I promise to share all of the deets with you soon: including cruise and travel tips, as well as a DIY travel journal to end all travel journals (The journal is either incredibly amazing, or incredibly obsessive-compulsive, depending on how you look at it.) Before we get to that though, I was moved to write this blog because I am still active on the WeddingBee message boards, and on a fairly regularish basis, I see a post by a bride who had to call off her wedding, due to a variety of horrible circumstances.

WeddingBee is about the experience of moving towards the altar, and for some brides, that journey gets cut short, which is what happened to me. I have gained what feels like a master's degree in love recently, and I feel like this merits a post to support those brides whose world seems to have fallen in, as well as to help those of you support a bud of yours who may be starting over in the Marriage Love department.

To those of you who are calling off your wedding - IT SUCKS A WHOLE LOT, doesn't it? Especially when the sudden relationship bomb is infidelity. I want to give you a little hope...

Your best days are ahead of you. Really.

Even though I am in no way glad Mr. ex-Snapdragon cheated on me, I am SO thankful I found out before we got married. As anyone who has been through a divorce will tell you - getting divorced is way more horrible than breaking up, even when you are calling off a wedding. I was able to walk away immediately, with no lawyers. When you're married, you don't get to do that.

The worst months are definitely the ones that immediately follow your breakup, but now that I am four months out... I don't really cry about it anymore. I actually feel good most of the time instead of totally broken. I have fun and laugh now (which was unthinkable several months ago!)

Another tough thing about calling off a wedding is that at least a hundred people are now all up in your business; you don't really get to be private about it. You know what that means... lots of advice (!) which is the last thing we need. Thankfully, even though many people loved to word vomit their horrible cheating stories on me, my close friends and family were smart enough to just say "Snappy, how are you doing?" and then take me out for multiple margaritas and tell me lots of jokes.

The most loving thing any buddy or family member can do is to just show you that they love you. Nobody that has called off their wedding wants advice, none of us want to hear your sad cheating story - we just want to know that you love us and support our decision that we have made for ourselves. I think the worst thing someone said to me was "I always thought he was a cheater - I'm not surprised." :O

So again, I want to reiterate that calling off your wedding is an excruciating event... but it really does get better. I will say this again: Your best days are ahead of you.

In news of the miraculous, I am going on my first post-Mr.-ex-Snap date this week, and I am kind of totally excited about it!

Breaking up doesn't have to break you. Keep your chin up.

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