A Rundown of my Exes

Have you ever taken a step back, thought about the past, especially relationships, and think "what the heck was I thinking?" 

I've had my fair share, and now that I'm with MG, who's pretty much the best thing since sliced bread (I may be biased, but I don't care), I can realize just HOW far I've come.
Here's the rundown of some of my exes:

The First Love

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He was the guy I dated in HS, and then off and on all the way through grad school. He was absolutely the nicest person you'd ever meet, honest, and an incredibly hard worker. I honestly have no bad things to say about him. He showed me what it was like to be treated well, was super sweet and kind, and helped me through a lot of transitions in my life. The only problem was that we didn't have that romantic chemistry. We were best friends, but there wasn't that SPARK.

The best things I got from this relationship was knowing the type of man and relationship that I wanted. And that I was too young to settle for something, when I knew it didn't feel right for the long run.

The Guy Not Over His Ex (aka the "separated guy")

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He was separated when we started dating, and assured me that he was over his ex (she had cheated on him), and that it was just a matter of waiting for the time that the divorce could be finalized --in Maryland you have to wait a year. Meanwhile, later in the relationship, he was seeing and talking to his ex without my knowledge. And on a trip to visit him and his family after Christmas, I found out he'd been out with another girl the night before. Fun times. (So much for learning from your heart-break and never doing that to someone else, right?)

Best thing I got out of this relationship was Cooper. And an understanding of how not to be needy.

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The LDR (aka "the cheater")

He was my Long Distance Relationship that I almost moved across country for. Almost. And thank goodness I didn't. He was also a liar and had at least 2 emotional "cheats" on me....still undetermined on the physical, but we'll go ahead and guess yes.

Also came from a family who would not accept me (and was pretty rude to me in general) because I wasn't Jewish. And one in which, apparently, all the males in the family had cheated on their significant others at some point.

Apple doesn't fall far from the tree, eh?

Best thing I got out of this relationship was to trust my gut and instincts the first time around.

The emotionally unstable Emotional Roller Coaster

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A friend set us up, soon after my breakup with The Cheater. He gave lots of attention in the beginning which was something I'd been missing in my last relationship. And then he turned into an emotional roller coaster. He told me he loved me in about a week's time (and got upset when I didn't say it back), and he got his feelings hurt or upset at the smallest of things, to the point where I never knew what I was going to say that was going to get to him. He also took more selfies than any male (or female, for that matter) ever should.

Best thing I got out of this relationship was an understanding of how people can get trapped in a cycle of drama. And how to stand up for myself and my needs.

Mr. Right

And then, who strolled into the picture, but MG.

The guy who never gives me a reason to wonder or doubt, despite the cheaters in my past. The guy who treats me like a girl should be treated, and gives me butterflies. He's the one who makes me try new things, gives me a shoulder to cry on and arms to wrap me in when things get tough, and he balances out my worry-wort tendencies with his laid back, easy going personality.  He makes me laugh, even when I'm mad at him, but then also listens when I'm upset.  I can take him anywhere and he effortlessly socializes and makes friends instantaneously. He brightens my day just by walking in the door from work, and makes me feel special with the little things that he does. He isn't perfect, but he's perfect for me. He's my best friend.

My mom always told me growing up that every relationship that I had was one that would bring me closer to the one I was supposed to be with. Looking back, I totally see it. There were a lot of things I had to learn in order to be able to have this wonderful man and this amazing relationship, and to truly appreciate it all. At the time, it was rough going through break-ups and having my heart broken, but in the end, it was totally worth it.