When I was in 8th grade, I found out my Dad had had an affair. I remember my Mom crying and sad. I remember all of a sudden, she started buying new, expensive clothes and dressing much nicer. We changed churches. One day at the mall I saw my Dad's OW, came home and innocently told my Mom who I'd seen. She said, "That's her. That's the bitch." I was so shocked! My parents went to marital counseling and there were shelves of marriage books that I started reading as a teen. Marriage Insurance and His Needs, Her Needs were my favorites.
When my husband and I started dating, we read the books together. We knew what we were supposed to do to affair-proof our marriage. We have 6 children together and have been married 28 years.
Now it's me sprucing myself up, buying new clothes, reading marriage books with fresh eyes...
One other thing I see in common is that in my Dad & Mom's case my Mom cared for her great-aunt, and then my Dad's Mom in their home. My mother came to live with us in a small apartment behind our home 7 years ago. She has Parkinson's so it's pretty labor-intense taking care of her.
It's just so uncanny. Deja vu.
