WKramer...
I have a question for you out of curiosity... well.. maybe even a couple of questions, and like I say to my husband, you don't have to answer out loud.. I just want to ask them as they may be things you haven't thought of, and for the record, I'm not trying to "teach a lesson" or whatever... just asking...
It could be that you never experience feelings of drudgery and sameness with your newer wife, but if you do, or if there is unimagined tragedy in your life that causes extreme stress, do you think you will bail on the marriage with her, or are there any lessons learned from regret from the cheating on your first wife? The reason I ask is... I cheated on my first husband with my second husband.... yep.... and I justified it with "it's fate, it's not sexual yet... just emotional cheating.... the first marriage was an unfortunate mistake, yada, yada..." but I now feel very differently... BECAUSE IT HAPPENED TO ME and my kids. And while I feel it was going to end up this way NO MATTER WHAT, I also believe that my current husband and I are together SPECIFICALLY to learn how devastating cheating is to ALL involved.. including the cheater. In fact, I feel VERY strongly about my own lack of character and the reasons for it.. much like an alcoholic drinks to avoid FOO issues or whatever.... I was not a serial cheater. I had my standards, LOL!! BUT, I "followed my heart" thinking that what someone doesn't know won't hurt them.
My second question is..... have you ever thought how you would feel or react if your current wife "fell in love" with someone else? What if you aren't always meeting her needs? What if she hits midlife and "issues" come up for her and her coping skills are to RUN into the arms of another "more perfect" man? What if she woke up one morning and told you she wasn't happy and it was all your fault and she had met someone else.... what if she told you it's NOT your fault... that she "didn't MEAN for it to happen... but it did and she can't help her feelings..."? Many people feel that relationships are not MEANT to last a lifetime.. that it is best to enjoy each other until it's not good anymore and then move on to greener pastures. Perhaps you legitimately feel this way? Would you give her a free pass to check out of your marriage in order to "find happiness" or would you QUESTION her sanity at that point? WOuld you wonder "WTH is going on? You never gave me a clue anything was wrong? WHy not tell me and give me a chance? Why throw away a marriage for some FLING???". Again, I'm honestly just curious... and for the record, I haven't read your blog. Your life is yours to live, not mine.
But you did come here and tell us we could ask anything... we who have been devastated by our spouses sudden choices.... KNOWING something just isn't right about the scenario they paint... and seeing WITH OUR OWN EYES after a period of time, that they admit they were LOST in chaos for a( that they sometimes go to great lengths to change to be more like US.....) HOPING it will SOLVE THEIR ISSUES and baggage they're not even aware of.... but discovering they have hooked up with DAMAGED women or men with a lot of "issues" of their own....
So.... I'm just asking you.... a man who doesn't believe Mid-Life had anything to do with his choices, and probably is telling the truth. But, I just wonder if what you are telling us is, you love your wife so much, that the end justifies the means, and you wouldn't change a thing? I know we can't change our past... BUT, we can learn from them.. and in my OWN personal situation, I DO regret my choices... even if it led me to my husband and our children..... many things could have been handled in a more honorable way, so FOR ME, I cannot honestly say the end has justified the means, and I DO love him very much.... the only reason I wouldn't change a thing is because I CAN'T.
Thanks for stopping by... LG