I just saw a tweet that read:

“Morning side pieces. If he doesn’t leave his woman for you, he’s not as into you as you think. And he sure don’t respect you.”

Bass ackward thinking at it finest. A man, after having a relationship with two women simultaneously, only respects the second if he leaves the first for her? Never mind respecting the himself, first woman, or THEIR relationship enough to not carry on a second relationship. No, this is about respecting the “side piece”.

Apparently being referred to as a “side piece” is a title of merit with expectations of fidelity, trust, and honor.

Being second is never being number one. Respect must begin with self. We cannot expect others to end respectful where we did not set the precedent. How do you expect someone to make you a priority when you willingly accepted being an option?

This is what I would have tweeted, save the 140 character count:

Good morning, ladies. If a man wants to begin a relationship with you, while he is committed to another, he does not respect you. RUN. You deserve more. Respect yourself by not settling for the one who is there, but only when he’s not with her. The one who is into you as much as you think and respects you, is mature enough to have eyes for only you. He is out there, waiting for you to leave Mr. Right Now.

Love,

Sea

He said, “We broke up.” Somehow, that left me with a glimmer of hope. Hope that he would realize his destiny was right in front of him. That the one he was meant to love for the rest of his life had never left. That my heart and arms were always open and ready, whenever he was. Meanwhile, he was hoping the same. With her.

A little girl at work was crying the other day.  When I asked what was wrong, she said she misses her mommy and daddy and my heart just sank. I know her parents are having marital issues but when you see how it affects the children, it all becomes so real.

Sometimes I wonder if I was one of the lucky ones because I came from a single parent home.  My mother never argued with my father.  I never experienced the pain of having had both parents, then one parent.  I never had to witness mommy and daddy slowing growing out of touch with each other.

So, what does this mean for my future?  I want to be married and have children, in that order, and then stay married forever.  But what does that “married forever” really look like?  What goes on in between the now and forever part that makes it work or not work?

I’m staying with some married friends now and I tell you, it does not look easy.  It certainly doesn’t look like what you see in the movies.  This life isn’t a movie.

Art does imitate life, but it’s also written to be exact.  Two hours cannot encompass 89 years.  One hundred and eighty-nine pages cannot explain 89 years.  Three minutes and thirty seconds cannotdescribe 89 years.   Seventy-five by one hundred and five inches of canvas cannot embody 89 years.

They can give snippets, bursts, or glimpses into the life, but they are just not capable of showing the entire life.  Even autobiographical pieces have no way of accomplishing that great feat.

The only way to see a lifespan is to have lived your life.

My life is not that of my parents, my favorite movie, song, or painting, it is mine and mine alone.  I don’t know what the future will bring, but I can live and enjoy each moment because I can never get them back.

Maybe I won’t have a “traditional” family, maybe I will.  Either way, the life I live will be mine with no regrets.