I (45F), and my husband (47M) have a daughter named Andrina. Ever since she was a kid, she dreamed of having the perfect marriage, since me and husband told her of how we first met (we met in college). When she got to high school she met this guy, Zain. She brought him home, and since both of our families knew each other and this guy was really nice to Andrina we approved of him. I remember whenever she came him from school she couldn’t stop talking about him to her sister and brother. I warned her that she should not let this marriage narrative take over her life and she should focus on her studies. She listened and got straight As, or so I thought. Andrina had straight As and she and Zain got into one of the most elite private schools in the Bay Area, and we were so proud of her. Everything was perfect until one day when we got a call from the school to come immediately as there had been an incident. We were shocked to find out that Andrina got suspended for aggressively bullying h...
I lost my husband two years ago. Three kids — two teenagers and an 8 year old. The first year was just white-knuckling through every single day. Grief on top of grief on top of keeping the house running and making sure they were okay. I didn't even register myself as a person who had needs. Now it's been two years and something has shifted. I notice men. My body notices men. When someone touches my arm in passing I feel it everywhere and it scares me a little how strong that reaction is. I didn't plan for this. It just showed up. Friends took me out last night and basically told me to make a dating profile or at least have a casual hookup. I laughed it off. But it's been sitting with me ever since. I'm a senior executive at a finance firm. Two men I work with are clearly interested. One's early 50s, I'm pretty sure he's looking for something casual. The other is mid-40s and gives off relationship energy. I'm attracted to both of them, which is its o...