Articles About Love and Marriage
The Second Time Around
People in love sometimes fall out of love. But sometimes, they fall back into love all over again. While we have seen many instances of this in our interviews over the years, a great example of what we are talking about is the love affair between Tom and Anna.
Tom and Anna were married 4 years and then they got divorced. Hard to tell why, but in the end, they decided they didn’t love each other anymore. For two years after their divorce they didn’t talk to each other. No contact. Nothing. Nada!
Then one day when Tom went to pick up his son (Anna and he shared joint custody), he said, “Daddy, Mommy is awfully sick. “Mommy” was, of course, Tom’s wife of 4 years – the woman he had divorced – it was Anna.
Tom went in the house to check on Anna. She was, indeed, very ill. He got her to a hospital, she was nursed her back to health, and she got well. Tom was thrilled to see Anna healthy again. And a funny thing happened along the way – Tom and Anna fell in love again. Tom and Anna fell in love all over again.
Over time, their relationship regained the flame it had in the beginning, and today they are celebrating their 25th anniversary of their SECOND marriage to each other.
We have found that the case of Tom and Anna is not all that unusual. Sometimes, the flames of love ebb and flow. Sometimes people in love fall out of love, only to fall back into love all over again. Love is funny that way. Love is not always predictable.
Today, Tom and Anna are madly in love! They share many things in common. They love to be together in the great outdoors. They love their beloved St. Louis Cardinals. In fact, each year, Tom makes an elaborate hat to demonstrate his loyalty to the Cardinals. This past year, his hat had replica 2006 World Series Championship trophies all over it. His hat has made him quite a celebrity in St. Louis, home of the Cardinals.
There is hardly a person of importance in St. Louis that Tom, adorned with his Cardinals hat, has not had taken his picture taken with – the mayor of St. Louis, the owner of the Cardinals, the fans, and the guy or gal on the street. Tom has become something of a legend in his own hometown. His hats are recognizable everywhere.
As to Anna – she loves Tom to pieces and shares his love for the Cardinals. Just today, as we enjoyed ourselves at the Cardinals Winter Roundup – an annual event in St. Louis that attracts thousands for the Cardinals charitable wing, Cardinals Care – there was Anna, adorned in her Cardinals collection, having fun with Tom. Everybody was photographing Tom and Anna. They are the stuff of legends. They are the stuff of love.
As we drove home today, we talked a lot about Tom and Anna. We talked about their love affair. We talked about their enduring relationship with each other for 36 years through TWO marriages to each other, and their one divorce from each other, and how, in the end, they have found everlasting love for each other.
Sometimes, love works in strange ways. In the case of Tom and Anna, it worked out well. Falling in love all over again to the same person sometimes works. Just ask Tom and Anna.
By Dr. Charles D. Schmitz and Dr. Elizabeth A. Schmitz
Authors of Building a Love that Lasts: The Seven Surprising Secrets of Successful MarriageWinner of the INDIE Book Awards GOLD Medal for Best Relationship Book
Winner of the 2009 Mom’s Choice Awards GOLD Medal for Most Outstanding Relationships and Marriage Book 2009 Nautilus Book Awards
(Jossey-Bass/Wiley 2010) Available wherever books are sold.
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