A Story About Two People

I want to tell you a story about two people.

Two people who fit together, as he says, like a jigsaw puzzle.

I tell him I like him more and more everyday.

There are moments we cling to each other, moments we push away, moments we fall back and moments we fall forward - both alone and together.

We are a complicated pair. In our own heads often. Intense. Independent. Damaged (and I mean that in the best possible way). Passionate. We are so very different and so very much the same.

We have tangled schedules. We tip toe. We ask forgiveness. I soften as I remember these are new pathways and I can choose something different this time.

We inhabit a new territory. Our families broke open. We know that sadness. We know the questions and the fear and the desire to create and build and protect. We know what it's like to know someone forever and ever and then have that person disappear (even though both are still integral pieces of our lives). We know the reality of stories that have an ending.

We also know new joy and we've felt that rush of a beginning.

We are learning as we grow. Alone and together about who we are as individuals and who we are together and what it means to have our families expand.

I don't know how this story will end. It's happening right now and we're living it. Sometimes these sorts of stories are really hard to tell because you're living in the middle of it.

If we always waited for the end to tell a story we'd miss so much.

When I feel most afraid I remind myself that there are things to say, and things to celebrate, and pieces to document without fear of how the story will end. Do stories ever really end? Or do they just change and curve and zig zag and evolve into the next one?

Our family stories are different now, but they are still our families.

What I know is this, he has a huge giant heart of gold even when he tries to hide it with jokes and sarcasm. And the cure for everything just might be pie. Pumpkin for him, fruit for me.

We are in it people. One day at a time.

To be continued.

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186 thoughts

  1. erin says…
    07/10/2014

    beautiful, ali!

    Reply 0 Replies
  2. Jamie says…
    07/10/2014

    LOVE this story!!!! (How right you are to point out that it's scary to tell our story without knowing the end. So good for me to know & remember.)

    Reply 0 Replies
  3. alecia says…
    07/10/2014

    Love this! LOVE YOU! Hope to meet him someday. . .

    Reply 0 Replies
  4. Kathy says…
    07/10/2014

    I love this quote - "Do stories ever really end? Or do they just change and curve and zig zag and evolve into the next one", I can see a great lay out based on it, or as a title page for a scrapbook. Thank you. kathy

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  5. KellyO says…
    07/10/2014

    Beautiful Ali. You've completely summed up divorce and the bravery it takes to move forward. The growth and the new choices as you do. And the joy. The joy that you can find again.

    Reply 0 Replies
  6. Maria Elena says…
    07/10/2014

    I love your post!

    Reply 0 Replies
  7. Bambou Orchidee says…
    07/10/2014

    This is so beautifully written !!! Love it ! And thank you for sharing these so personal thoughts.

    Reply 0 Replies
  8. Michelle t. says…
    07/10/2014

    This brought me strong feelings. The story I am living that hasn't ended is different, but your words apply, do they ever. (When you said "in the best possible way" among other phrases). Thank you for sharing this. We all are going through this life, with our stories, and every single one, meaningful, heart wrenching, beautiful. Michelle t

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  9. RitaQ says…
    07/10/2014

    Powerfully written & so poignant.

    Reply 0 Replies
  10. Barb says…
    07/10/2014

    Very cool story Ali! Happy you are living it and not just waiting to figure it out.

    Reply 0 Replies
  11. Christen says…
    07/10/2014

    So nice...

    Reply 0 Replies
  12. J3SS1C4 says…
    07/10/2014

    This is the sweetest! I'm glad you have someone who gives you an exciting beginning yet again. You deserve all the happiness it brings :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  13. juliane says…
    07/10/2014

    Wow just wow!

    Juliane

    Reply 0 Replies
  14. kelsey says…
    07/10/2014

    Amazingly written. Relationships are hard to begin with,let alone what the two of you have gone through.It can't be easy to navigate all these relationships (his ex, your ex, his kids) but I'm sure in the end it will all be worth it.

    Go, Ali, Go!

    Reply 0 Replies
  15. April says…
    07/10/2014

    Love, love, love this.

    Reply 0 Replies
  16. Robin Gibson says…
    07/10/2014

    Ditto, to RitaQ!

    Reply 0 Replies
  17. Terri says…
    07/10/2014

    Your raw honesty (his, too) teaches all of us. This might be my favorite post of all from you, Ali. I am 62 years old and you even speak to me.

    So grateful for you. I am off to make a blueberry pie.

    Reply 0 Replies
  18. Erica Thomas says…
    07/10/2014

    Very insightful post. I've wondered if you'd write about aaron and your relationship. Of anything you could write, I think this sums it up best. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply 0 Replies
  19. Jenell says…
    07/10/2014

    I love this entire post, but especially love this: “Do stories ever really end? Or do they just change and curve and zig zag and evolve into the next one”. Don't fight this story, Ali. The story is happening and curving and zig-zagging along, but you and Aaron are in the Story. Let it play out - capture it - enjoy it! Thanks for sharing this. This was beautifully written!

    Reply 0 Replies
  20. Pink Ronnie says…
    07/10/2014

    Thank you, Ali...
    Ronnie xo

    Reply 0 Replies
  21. laura g. says…
    07/10/2014

    it's probably very hard to trust someone new in your life after someone has broken your heart and turned your life upside down...but to not let someone new into your life is cheating yourself from really living and moving forward...scarey territory...but you have navigated it with grace and dignity...thinking of your children's welfare first...you are a class act and very admired...Go, Ali, Go!!

    Reply 0 Replies
  22. Elizabeth S. says…
    07/10/2014

    I love this post. Thanks for sharing your heart.

    Reply 0 Replies
  23. Kristie says…
    07/10/2014

    I think this is one of my favorite posts EVER from you, Thank you for continuing to share your story with us.

    Reply 0 Replies
  24. Janet Wight says…
    07/10/2014

    Wow, you really said your truth, Ali. Your openness and vulnerability touched me.

    Reply 0 Replies
  25. Leah Burgett says…
    07/10/2014

    Beautifully written!! Love it!

    Reply 0 Replies

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