Member-only story
Divorce
I Refused to Leave a Bad Relationship
What others can learn from my worst mistake
As an enabler, I could be labeled an overachiever. My marriage counselor put it into much nicer words.
He said I am overly caring.
That sounds so nice, doesn’t it?
The caring part?
I mean, who doesn’t want to be told they are caring, let alone overly caring?
Until this moment, it had been a positive in my life. A cup is half-full, rose-colored glasses, see the best in anyone kinda girl — I loved everyone.
I cared about everyone.
It worked for me.
Of course, the ‘overly’ part had made itself known from time to time.
The day my friend said, “Colleen, most people care about those closest to them. But you care about everybody even strangers.”
Still, it kinda went over my head.
I attributed it to being from a family of first responders. I grew up around firefighters, cops, and a priest. People who cared about everyone. People I was incredibly proud of. People who made a difference and saved lives because they…
