Chip Chick
This 42-year-old man’s wife, 30, has a 15-year-old son from a previous relationship. He legally adopted his son; two years ago, he and his wife had a daughter.
They met when she was 20 and a student in a trades program where he was teaching. She was doing her best to provide for her son, and he helped her with her classes during her first year in the program. At the end of the year, he wished her the best.
While teaching during his now-wife’s second and third year in the program, he saw her grow from someone just learning how to be an adult in the world to a capable tradesperson. After she completed the program, he recommended her for a job at a company that entrusted him.
Once she became a foreman and earned a white hat, she stopped by the school she’d graduated from to thank him for his help. In response, he assured her that she was the one responsible for her accomplishments and he’d only provided guidance.
After that, they went to coffee together. Then, they had lunch a few times and dinner. They eventually started dating and married a year later. His wife gave birth to their daughter two years later and returned to her job. He found a position at a new company as a Quality Control Inspector.
“My ex-wife is my mom and dad’s favorite person. They like her more than they like me. Even after she divorced me because I stuck with teaching instead of making bank in the field,” he said.
Over the years, while teaching, he witnessed hundreds of couples break up because the partners working in the trade, usually men, worked too much. He’s never seen it the other way around where someone filed for divorce because their partner didn’t work enough, but that’s why his ex-wife filed for divorce. They didn’t have any children.
He’d been divorced for three years when he and his now-wife met, but his parents have continued to invite his ex-wife to their family gatherings. Eventually, his ex, a teacher, married another teacher, and they seem to have a wonderful marriage. His father recently retired after an impressive career, and his mother planned a huge retirement party.
“When she invited me, she said it would be boring, and I did not need to bring my son. She has known him since he was 10 years old, and it still bugs her that he is not biologically mine,” he explained.
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