With July 4 Th. just around the corner my mind drifts back nearly 2 decades to another independence day. I was at my sisters along with 2 of her kids and my 2 brothers and their family's. We were all supposed to go to a family reunion on my mom's side of the family. We decided not to go, and stayed at my sisters. Back in those days cell phones were not as widespread as they once were so no one had them in my family at the time. About 2 hrs. later my sisters oldest daughter showed up. Her and her boyfriend had went to the reunion and when we did not show she came to see why.
When they came they had some news that should have been really good news, but we did not take it as good well. Her boyfriend had given her an engagement ring. It was a beautiful ring and my niece was very happy. My sister and I looked at the ring and my niece smiling in joy, but we could not be happy. You see my sister some other family members and I had all seen what my niece could not see because she was blinded by love. What had happened just a week before made it impossible fir my sister and I to be happy. The week before he had spent an hour long distance on the phone with her boyfriend while he browbeat her about was she seeing anyone else even when she told him the only ones there were her mom and her brother. He would not take her word there was no one else. I had said to her at the time why do you want to be with a guy that does not trust you? She tried to defend him she said it was her sister he did not trust. I said bull when he first asked the question it may have been because he did not trust your sister but when he did not take your word there was no one HE DID NOT TRUST YOU.
His behavior was like an abusive personality and after spending years seeing my aunt being abused I did not want to see it happen to my niece. The odd thing is when someone loves someone or thinks they do the more you try to tell them they are bad the more they will feel the need to defend them. That was what happened the more we tried to tell her he was bad the more we pushed her closer to him. He was not stupid he knew if he bought her a ring she would be his. It took nearly3 years of mental abuse and neglect from him before she realized what we tried to tell her was true and she divorced the abusive looser.
She is now married to a wonderful guy who had 3 older children from a previous marriage, they have a beautiful little girl of their own and will soon be grand parents.
I have a family picture on my wall that was taken on my nieces first wedding day but I had scanned it into my computer and edited her ex husband out of it. lol My niece asked me why I did it and I told her she got rid of him I never liked him in the first place why would I keep him. lol