NOT LIVING HER BEST LIFE ANYMORE

Be Careful Out There — Do Not Become A Hospice Wife

Know the details of their lives before marrying anyone.

Toni Crowe
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Published in
9 min readMay 17, 2024

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The Situation

When my friend Clara* turned 50, she had a job she enjoyed. She ran half marathons for fun, and our small friend group regularly met for drinks either out or at our homes.

She would travel to see other friends out of town and was happy with her life. Clara was the person in our group who made self-care a priority. She often fussed at the rest of us, saying we were not taking great care of ourselves.

Clara constantly suggested fun activities. She found the Chicago mystery train trip and planned the Napa Valley wine tours. We loved that Clara was traveling, dating, and living the life she wanted.

New Love

Then, she met a man, Richard*, who was 12 years older than her. Theirs was a whirlwind romance. We met him during their courtship; he was everything she said he was. He treated us like we were old friends.

Richard was handsome, charming, and intelligent. He was a bit too charming. But, it was a don’t ask, don’t tell unless asked. If you look up the phrase “suspicious bitch” in a dictionary, you will find my…

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Toni Crowe
Middle-Pause

Sharing the hard lessons I've learned in life. Best-selling author. Humorist. Editor. Writing whatever interests me . Owner: No Air. Editor:MuddyUm.