EPILOGUE
It is fair to say that the last year was the most eventful and challenging off-road adventure in the story that is my life's past decade.
A divorce is no small matter, not even when seas are calm and everything is civil.
I've gotten the same question a lot throughout the process: If things were so bad, why did you stay? And I usually give the same short and sweet answer: Things weren't always so bad.
When I had removed from our home for safety reasons, and it became clear that I was to be served with divorce rather than have the safety issue addressed, my son asked me: But what about all those trips we took, (what about all those pictures)?
I told him then, as I reaffirm now: They still belong to us. They always will. They really happened and we really were there together. We can cherish the good in those moments, and we should.
And this is very important (at least to me): The decision to keep them in tact should have never fallen on a fault line between safety and explosive anger. There is no hatred in that statement. In this past week, I have continued to hear "You're the one who left" as if I chose to empty our family albums on a whim instead of asking for our safe preservation.
I will hold to the truth despite another's attempt to disparage my intent.
I gave a lot of myself to my family in its formative years - two decades all told.
I share memories now in sincerity and for posterity.
The love I've invested hasn't changed or gone away, despite the ever-changing face of our dynamics.
Someday, hopefully, I'll see a healthy return..
