Thank you, Sherry, your response is so sweet. I stayed way too long. I wasn’t able to leave my husband until I left my sister and my father first — another story(ies) for another day — maybe even another response to this prompt. It was like climbing a mountain — the first peak was my sister, the second was my father and the third, my husband. I was always a holder-on, clinging tightly to every person in my life, even those who added no value to my existence — the effects of being a motherless child, a therapist once told me.

And, yes, I did, indeed, find someone much better!