Are you grateful to any of your exes?

Yeah… to the first girl I kissed. She helped me get through some hard times, and taught me a lot of things. Even though we broke up in a kind of bad way, we still talk sometimes.

I subscribe to the theory that there are no mistakes in this life, only lessons. Applying that theory, all of my exes were excellent teachers, in one way or another.

Nearly all of them, for one reason or another. My ex-husband and I had a good marriage for a very long time before it went bad, and made three great kids together. We had a fairly amicable divorce, and he’s a good father to our children.

My very first boyfriend (in 6th grade) treated me very well, and set the tone for how I expected to be treated from there on out. I’m grateful for that.

I appreciate the honesty and tenderness that my first serious boyfriend (high school) and I shared when we were each others ‘first’.

I even appreciate the one who turned out to be a racist, homophobic prick. It showed me how serious I am about not tolerating that shit. I think I was 15 or 16 at the time, and I told him exactly what I thought of him, in no uncertain terms.

I guess so. If not for him I would be dead, he kept me in lock down for the years it took for me to get clean. So I am kind of grateful.

I learned something from each of them – usually something about myself. My first husband is the father of our three amazing children, I will always be grateful for that.

I’m grateful to all of them, I learned something about myself from each of those relationships. I don’t necessarily like them, but I appreciate the way that those relationships shaped me and helped me to learn about myself, and what I deserve.

Well, in a weird way, I am grateful to my ex-husband who taught me how not to be in a relationship. I would never tell him that though. I have no contact with him nor would I want any.

They all played a part in the development of my personality, emotions, relationship skills, etc, etc…. so on some level I have to be at least a bit grateful.

Plus hey, I can always remember what they looked like naked right? lol

No.

It seems to me that unless you can unmake experience, your only option is gratitude, which means it’s not really a choice. You can complain and hate, but if you deny your experience, you can’t learn from it, and if you don’t learn from it, you’ll do it all over again. The gratitude is for being able to learn and for surviving. Gratitude is about submitting to the lessons of life. Gratitude is the choice to keep on keeping on.

It worries me when people deny their own experience. What is the consequence of that? It seems like denying your own self. Wishing you were someone else, which is kind of pointless. It seems like an angry thing to do. Perhaps it is a way of preserving one’s self, but in the end, if it goes on for a long time, it seems like it would become self-destructive.

Don’t have any. I introduce my wife as “this is my first wife Sharon”. It’s kept her on her toes for 46 years….so far.

@Ron_C: And how does Sharon introduce you?

“Here’s Ron, by some miracle, he’s still alive”

Yes, and I am still in contact with most, some moved away. I have the best ex husband in the world.

Some I am grateful for because they helped mold my personality and lifelong dreams.

One old boyfriend wasn’t too hot, but he worked at Disneyworld and I got to go to all the parks for free while we were together. And yeah—call me shallow, but that works for me.

I am grateful for the boyfriend I lost to cancer, he made me realize I wanted children in my life regardless if I were married or with someone at the time. I adopted both my girls as a result of the things that transpired. He knew before he died of the plan to become a foster parent and the call about placement for my oldest daughter came the day of his death only a few hours after he passed away so I never got to tell him about her.

I am grateful to my second wife for her contribution to the birth of my children. Even though she showed little interest in them after they were able to talk, I gained so much from my experiences as a parent. I would have done so much better with a mate who cared about them more than herself.

I realize that I may sound bitter. I regret what my children continue to be deprived of because of her ongoing disinterest in them and their children.

I regret that I could not do as much as or as well as the only parent as I could have done with a woman like my present wife. She too struggled to raise her children without the help of their father.

We have 9 grandchildren between us and we show our grown children and how much we love them and their children.

There are two exes in particular that walked into my life and changed my world forever. One taught me love and the other taught me hate… They opened up my eyes in so many ways… I suffered quite alot…but in the end I became a fighter and because of them I know what to look for now.

I have no hard feelings for any of them. Well, maybe one of them.
Nick taught me a lot of things. I learned what love is, and I learned that no matter what happens life goes on. I learned that somehow they’ll still mean everything to you, no matter how much they hurt you. He was the only one there when my parents got a divorce. And even though he’s far away, and we don’t talk very much anymore, he’s always going to be my best friend.

I’m grateful they are all out of my life!

I am grateful for my children!