My golden years are long behind me, and suddenly I received a marriage proposal, but I’m in no hurry to answer

I got married quite early by today's standards, at 22 years old. It was the very height of my student life, during which I didn’t even think about what was more important: to love or to be loved? I just wanted to escape from my parents' house as quickly as possible. My parents tried in every possible way to dissuade me, citing my age and bright future, but they failed. I must say, I have never regretted it.



Unsplash However, the years have flown by unnoticed, and now I am already 52. My husband is no longer alive, I am left completely alone in a private house on the outskirts of the city, I work a lot, my children are already adults. And suddenly I receive a marriage proposal! It would seem that a woman my age should be in seventh heaven. And the groom is enviable and good-looking, but I’m in no hurry to accept his proposal. I have a good reason for this. It's all about my late husband...

What is more important: to love or to be loved? I can’t say that I married for love. As I already mentioned, I wanted some kind of independence more. My father was in charge of everything in the house, my sister and I walked in line. Even my mother was afraid to contradict him. Having met Kostya, I realized that I felt quiet and calm with him - I would like this all my life. And it’s okay that his parents didn’t like him. I knew what exactly repulsed them: Kostenka was from a poor family, a little shorter than me and slightly burry.

But my husband was able to melt even my father’s heart with his attitude towards me. He was a man of amazing kindness. Sunny, hardworking. The house I live in now was entirely made by his hands. Every window, every nailed shelf - everything reminds me of him.



My first marriage Love came later. Over time, when my classmates started marrying beautiful and rich people, I realized how lucky I was. Meeting over a cup of tea, the young wives vied with each other to tell how bad their husbands were. Someone drinks, someone is lazy, someone has become an insensitive idol over the years, and someone, excuse me, even hits.

I had nothing to tell. Everything was fine with me. We cleaned the house together, and we also took turns sitting with the children. True, I cooked more often - I don’t like laundry and washing dishes. But he didn’t like going grocery shopping and thinking about what to cook.



Unsplash The 15 years that we lived together were the happiest of my life. I have never felt so much care and warmth from anyone as from Kostya. He never raised his voice at me, and we disagreed with each other so rarely that these situations can be counted on one hand.

Life after the death of her husband Unfortunately, Kostya passed away; his life was taken by a car accident. On the outskirts of the city, roads are rarely cleaned and paved in winter. The car went into a ditch, and the injuries received were incompatible with life. I don't know how I survived it. Probably, my husband’s family helped me the most - we were equally close to this grief. Although my parents could not find a place for themselves from sadness. They were very worried about me and tried to support me. But I experienced the most terrible moments of despair with my mother-in-law.



Unsplash More than 10 years have passed, but the house in which I live is still dear to me. The children went to different cities to study, but they didn’t forget about me. They call and come regularly. For my last birthday, my parents and I bought me a trip to a sanatorium. It was there that I met Evgeniy.

He is a handsome man, a little older than me, with good earnings and good looks. Well-read, intelligent. I don’t know what happened to me, but my heart seemed to go crazy. This had never happened with Kostya, everything was very calm and warm. And here I’m either hot or cold.



Unsplash What is more important: to love or to be loved? Zhenya has never been married, and all because he lives with his mother. His mother is seriously ill, so he cannot leave her alone. And no bride wanted to live with her sick mother-in-law, so she was left alone in her old age. After our stay at the sanatorium, we began to call each other often and see each other very rarely, because we live quite far from each other, 2 hours away. We met in the middle so that it would be convenient for both.

I never thought I'd ever be in a relationship again. But when it came to something serious, I realized that I was not ready. He calls me to him, he believes that the three of us with his mother will heal well. He suggested that if the first option doesn’t suit you, just come to me, if I invite you, of course. Calling for marriage.



Unsplash But I can’t. Living with his mother is not an option. And I can't imagine bringing another man into this house that my husband built with such love. And I can’t forgive myself for betrayal. I can’t even tell my relatives that I have someone. What would you do if you were me?