Dr. Laura,

My first serious relationship broke up because I saw the writing on the wall that we were not compatible.

He was possessive with a tendency toward a temper that flared. As time went by, he became angry about me seeing my few friends and he got angry and threw a handful of nails at me because he was frustrated with a fix-it project.  Then he tried to manipulate me by using my deceased brother as leverage.  With all of this, I realized this was not the person I wanted to be married to for the rest of my life. So with only two months to go before our wedding and all the plans complete except the flowers and his tuxedo, I cancelled it and never regretted it. I took my wedding dress home from the shop in a box, the engagement party was cancelled, and I returned the jeweler's custom wedding ring wax form. I was 25 and feeling like time was marching by.

It would be 6-7 years later before I finally walked the aisle, and it was well worth the wait.

Eileen