Hi, I'm new to this forum so I apologize if this is a common question. My first serious love was a girl I met in high school and dated for a few years into college. I was young and dumb and cheated on her a few times. She was really sweet and I assumed we would marry someday but I wasn't capable of having an adult, monogamous relationship at that point in my life. She eventually ended it after many second chances.
That was 17 years ago. I'm happily married now with kids. I've bumped into her a few times over the years but we never had more than a 2 minute conversation. I still harbor a great deal of guilt and shame for how I treated her. I was so reckless and unappreciative of her love. It destroyed me and I thought about her constantly for many, many years afterward.
My 20th high school reunion is this weekend and I'm really dreading seeing her. It's like revisiting one of the greatest mistakes of my life. I've been obsessing over possible conversations in my head for weeks. It's silly but I'm really freaking out over this one thing and probably won't attend the reunion.
Can someone offer some advice on how to handle this? How can I be so messed up over this 20 years later? Thanks for any replies.
That was 17 years ago. I'm happily married now with kids. I've bumped into her a few times over the years but we never had more than a 2 minute conversation. I still harbor a great deal of guilt and shame for how I treated her. I was so reckless and unappreciative of her love. It destroyed me and I thought about her constantly for many, many years afterward.
My 20th high school reunion is this weekend and I'm really dreading seeing her. It's like revisiting one of the greatest mistakes of my life. I've been obsessing over possible conversations in my head for weeks. It's silly but I'm really freaking out over this one thing and probably won't attend the reunion.
Can someone offer some advice on how to handle this? How can I be so messed up over this 20 years later? Thanks for any replies.