NewsBreak Original

A man reflects on his strained marriage filled with silence and longing for connection, highlighting the complexities of long-term relationships. **This is a work of nonfiction based on actual events as told to me by a client who experienced them firsthand; used with permission.

*This is a work of nonfiction based on actual events I experienced firsthand; used with permission. Do you know how they say your wedding day is supposed to be the best day of your life? I'm convinced it's because marriage is all downhill from there. What can I say? My marriage started coasting downhill on the morning of the ceremony. By the wedding night, we were in freefall.

"Maybe they can still salvage what you so cold-heartedly destroyed," wrote one concerned Reddit user. *This work of nonfiction is based on conversations from social media discussion boards, as well as the insights of established experts and specialists.*

A family is planning their biannual vacation trip. But there is a dilemma, one brother refuses to go if the other brother brings his dog along. A 33-year-old man explains that he is the eldest of three siblings, his brother is 27 and his sister is 29. The three of them usually go on a biannual trip with their parents and partners. They haven't been on a trip together since 2018. This year, however, his parents have already booked a beach house in Florida. However, his brother will be bringing his dog along, so he no longer wants to go as he "isn't a fan" of the dog. (source)

Older generations think back with pride about getting licenses to drive. Kelly Gartland gained hers in 1993 and still remembers the feelings. She savored her first taste of freedom behind the wheel of a family car.

A man wanted to take his girlfriend on vacation to celebrate their five year anniversary. "I planned the trip for several months (of course I shared my plans with her), and decided on skiing/snowboarding/other winter activities in CO." Everything seemed perfect and he was very excited about the trip as he had planned on proposing to her. To his unwanted surprise, five days before they were supposed to leave for their trip, his girlfriend "Sarah" invited two of her friends to join them. (source)

Living together can be tough. Sometimes a little "me time" can do wonders. But when is it taking it too far?. A man finds himself in this very situation. He lives with his girlfriend in a one bedroom apartment. He currently works from home and she has been out of a job for about about month. To have a quiet work environment he asked his girlfriend to leave the apartment for seven hours each day. He claims that she sometimes fail to "fails to stick to these rules and instead comes home for hours at a time." (source)

Being the only single person at a hang out with a bunch of couples can definitely be awkward. It makes you feel like you don’t belong or that everyone else is part of an exclusive club and you’re not. What do you do in situations where you know you are going to be the only single person in the room? Do you avoid the situation entirely?

You meet the love of your life and think you have found your happily ever after, so you get married. Then you realize this may not be your fairy tale after all. Do you try to make it work or call it quits?

There's no doubt that getting a job, paying rent and studying for school is an extremely difficult task. It can be pretty overwhelming trying to juggle all three without any real guidance. A young adult tells a story about step father and passive mother who wants them (gender of young adult is not mentioned) to pay rent even though they only turned 18 a few days prior.

You meet the love of your life, get engaged and eventually get married. From then on it's the two of you against the world, together for ever until death do you part. But is it too much to ask a little 'me time" sometimes?

*This is a work of nonfiction based on actual events I experienced firsthand; used with permission. My boyfriend wanted me to pay attention to him one-hundred percent of the time. I tried my best. Unfortunately, whenever I tried to eat, he'd get upset that I was diverting my attention from him to my food. Then one day, he took away my plate of food while I was mid-bite. "Hey," I said. "I brought that food with me from home."

A recently married couple did not get to go on their honeymoon right after their wedding. They went on a tip a few months later. The man has a son from a previous relationship. While on this trip, his son was supposed to be cared for by his babysitter, whom they trust very much. His wife insisted that he stayed with her parents instead. After some hesitation, he agreed. (source)

Having a good relationship with your in-laws is hard enough sometimes. But having them live with you, even for a short period can be quite uncomfortable and sometimes awkward. Here's one woman's predicament. She is having her 75-year-old mother-in-law stay with her because she recently sold her house. The problem is that the mother-in-law walks around the house in way too few clothes, just a t-shirt and underwear. (source)

It's a slippery slope being friends with an ex, especially if you are in another relationship. A man refused to accept his girlfriend's explanation after coming home to find her ex in his apartment. Here's the situation, his partner Lilly had told him she was going to invite a friend over to the apartment but failed to mention it was her ex-boyfriend. So he was quite shocked when he came home from the gym to find her "chilling with her ex" Kyle on his couch. (source)

The expectations of parents have risen. As children, it is not enough to move out, get a job, and have a traditional career. The older generations hope you live the lavish lifestyle they see on social media.

**This is a work of nonfiction based on actual events as told to me by a former client who experienced them firsthand; used with permission. Romantic relationships are often given more validity than friendship and other platonic relationships. But for many people, platonic relationships are often just as, if not more, meaningful.

*This is a work of nonfiction based on actual events as told to me by an acquaintance, who experienced them firsthand; used with permission. I bet a beautiful woman at work. She was tall and willowy with long hair and even longer legs. I estimated her age at around eighteen. She turned out to be thirty-six.

**This is a work of nonfiction based on actual events as told to me by a former client, who experienced them firsthand; used with permission. Grief is arguably the most difficult emotion to process. Even more so when it is directed at a person who is still alive, this type of grief often arises when a loved one is living with an illness, addiction, or any other life crisis.