retrospect

over the past few years i've thought, and i'm sure like most people, had some of those "what will be the significance of that relationship later on in life?" moments when i think about my relationship with brian. i'm sure God has a lot more reasons than i can think of, but one i'm sure of is getting to meet his parents, steve and linda. To date, they remain one of the most positive influences on my life. linda rebuked me when i needed it (which was a lot at the time) they were encouraging, supportive and very full of grace and love. they are really amazing people and were there for me in times when my own parents weren't and in ways my parents were never equipped to be. i'm always going to be thankful to for that.

i'm not so sure brian walked away with similar "i'm so thankful despite..." memories, but i'm sure God has a purpose.

i remember sitting with his brother matt and his wife alyssa one night in their basement and she made a comment about how they were all really shocked when brian and i started dating, that they never would have pictured him with someone like me, not that they didn't like me, but that the relationship was a big shocker. and that when they first met me they all assumed brian was trying to set me up with his roommate pat. in retrospect i suppose that should have told me a lot about how unmatched b and i are/were, but at the time i thought it was more of an 'opposites attract' thing.

again, in hind sight, i think brian and i shouldn't have dated in the first place, we'd have made much better friends. after we broke up we hung out as friends for a while and it just seemed to make so much more sense; of course those 'post breakup' friendships can't really last. and unfortunately i feel the worst part about breaking up is that it essentially ended my relationship with his parents as well. i'm not sure any wife would be thrilled to have her husband's ex-girl friend still close to her mother/father-in-law.