It’s hard to remember in a relationship that you aren’t required to be in it. A relationship isn’t a marriage; when you’re dating it’s supposed to be casual. Like trying on somebody to see if they fit. If someone says to you, early on “I’m not in love with you,” then you have the choice to leave, to find somebody who could be. You don’t need to stay, to see if you can fix the problem. When someone doesn’t like you, it isn’t a challenge to become what they want – you admit you don’t fit, and that’s it. Even if you are married, as my parents’ divorce proved to me, it may be better to end it before it goes down in flames. In theory. Relationships can be practice for the one that someday works.
I learned a lot from my parent’s marriage, but I never learned to leave.
Stewing, by April Jo Murphy
