bit·ter·sweet /ˈbidərˌswēt/
adjective – sweet with a bitter aftertaste.

Bittersweet is a good way to describe my life:

1. Mom and Dad told me I was special and smart and could do whatever I wanted to do.
   • But they didn’t feel the same about each other, so they split when I was too young to remember.
2. Mom and my stepfather got along great until they didn’t
   • So the man I called Dad my whole life had to leave our house. That’s the bitter, the sweet is that he ended up being my best friend until the day he died. (You knew there had to be more bitter)
3. After years of floundering found the love of my life and married her.
   • Lost her to cancer.
4. Moved halfway across the country to escape. Didn’t work. Still had to work. And live. And all that comes with that.

But life goes on. Change happens. New relationships are built. Perhaps part 2 of this story has a more evolved outcome.