Finding Love Later Has Advantages!
I would be lying if I said that itwas my first choice to meet my husband at 45, and get married for the firsttime shortly after my 49th birthday. It most certainly was not. I was veryimpatient the years I was looking for love.
That being said, I have come tolearn there are truly some advantages for meeting my husband later in my datingjourney.
Some of these advantages include:
I had time to develop as a person. Being single for a long time gave me lots of time to focus on things that were important to me, and that helped me develop as a person. I chose to focus on spiritual growth, developing deep friendships and I did some amazing travel.
I had time to figure out my needs. When I was younger, I was slow to figure out what my needs were. I often bended to the desires of others because I thought of myself as “flexible”. Really, I just wanted to please people and because I was afraid to make waves. Learning to recognize my needs has made me a better communicator, and has made me better at self-care.
I learned to be brave in my communication. This is no small thing! I practiced communication with friends, colleagues and when I was dating. It was really scary for me to learn to speak up when I was younger. But I really made an effort to learn how to bring up tough conversations, and the pay-off has been huge in my relationship!
My husband also had time to learn about himself. The beautiful thing about this list is, that it’s a very similar list for my husband. We came together more self-aware and braver than we would have if we had met years earlier. So in that way, we started off ahead of the game!
We have led more interesting lives, and have experiences to teach each other. Our lives are full with rich experiences to share.
We are better at taking responsibility. We’ve had enough experience to know that life goes a lot better when we can take responsibility for our actions.
We are better able to handle the hard stuff that comes up. Since we have life experience, and had to manage countless difficulties on our own before getting together, we are better equipped to handle tough situations when they arise.
We KNOW relationships like this don’t come along every day, so we never take it for granted. This might be the biggest advantage. Even during difficult conversations, I remember what it took for me to get to that moment. I’m forever grateful that I have found this relationship, and I do not take that lightly.
Now, I realize if you have kids orother family obligations, you may feel like you don’t have time to focus onyourself. If this is the case, I would encourageyou to truly schedule time in your calendar for yourself, and stick to thatcommitment. Remember this:
Learning to incorporate self-care in your life is vitallyimportant!
This will be even harder once you’ve met your soulmate, so please learn to schedule it in now and keep up the self-care habit when you’re happily in love. Your body, mind and spirit will thank you for it!
I do want to be honest, and saythat there were a couple of things that were probably harder because we metlater. Most notably:
Learning to be more flexible with another person. That being said, know this: Being “stuck in your ways” is achoice! We are only stuck as long as we choose to stay stuck. I won’t pretendit’s always easy, but it is absolutely worth the effort to learn to compromiseand continue to grow.
Learning how to manage my time with another person. I’d learned to manage my time fabulously when I was single,but navigating time with another person definitely has had a learning curve forme.
The beautiful thing is, it is ALWAYS a good time for love! Any challenges I’ve experienced pale in comparison to fulfilment that has come from meeting the love of my life. And, most importantly, it was ABSOLUTELY WORTH THE WAIT! All of the frustration and impatience will melt away once you have found your soulmate!
So hold fast, stay on course, andknow that whenever you meet, it will be the perfect, divine timing. I can’twait to hear all about it!
Love and light,
Catherine