Oddly, I had several good boyfriends here and there. I liked them, too. And had I let things happen, my life would have been very, very different. One of the guys in high school was a manager at Dominoes, he was 23 and I was 17. We had a serious relationship, but he often made a committment to pick me up or come over or call, and neglected that commitment. So after several months, I decided to call it quits.
The first guy who took advantage of me was shortly after. I was 18, he was an alcoholic woman abuser. I dropped out of college to be with him, got pregnant and tried work through things. Working for a living, paying bills, and being responsible was not his forte. After the baby was born, I would not put up with that, so I dumped him.
I dated a few good guys in college who had futures, but it never went anywhere. After college, I totally fell in love with this guy I worked with. We worked for the same company, and the same client, but not at the same location. We played volleyball together and he was absolutely great to my daughter. He was self-sufficient, level-headed, organized, and had a good future. But I was a woman who had a child out of wedlock and he was from an ethnic group that was completely Roman Catholic. It was a sin to have a child out of wedlock. He wanted to marry me, but would have been excommunicated and his family would have disowned him. I still get tears when I think about this. I could not do that to him. So I left him and jumped right into the arms of the second "man" who took advantage of me.
This was when I was 23, and he was on a lot of different drugs. I let him move in with me, I got pregnant. He never lifted one finger, held one job, anything. So, I decided not to put up with that and I dumped him. I am very ashamed to say that I had an abortion, and that is something I have had to live with. I moved to Florida to be with my mother and get away from him.
Then when I was 24, I jumped right in with the next "man." My current husband, who had even worse issues I guess. He had a job, at least, and he had that job for over 8 years, which impressed me.
