I would just laugh.
Despite my exhaustion, I was convinced that I had a wonderful family and a loving husband who understood everything I had sacrificed for him and our children.
But one day, I discovered what he really thought of me.
That evening, several of my husband’s friends came over.
They set up the grill on the patio, cooked meat, laughed, and talked while I stayed in the kitchen preparing salads and appetizers for them.
My youngest son was only five months old, so I carried him against my chest in a baby carrier.
When everything was ready, I picked up a tray and headed toward the patio.
A few steps before I reached them, I heard my husband’s voice and stopped.
“I actually want to leave her,” he told his friends.
At first, I didn’t even realize he was talking about me.
“She hasn’t accomplished anything in fifty years.
She couldn’t even learn English properly.
Sometimes I can barely stand looking at her.
Her body is sagging, she’s covered in wrinkles, and she never exercises.
Why would I want a loser like that beside me?”
His friends said something in response, but I could barely hear them anymore.
I stood behind the wall with our five-month-old son against my chest and thought about the last thirty-two years of my life.
I remembered the diploma I had put away in a closet after getting married.
I remembered turning down job offers because another one of our children was still too young.
I remembered staying awake night after night while my husband calmly left for work the next morning.
I remembered how he traveled while I simultaneously cooked dinner, helped the children with their homework, and rocked a baby to sleep.
And now the man for whom I had given up my former life was calling me a useless loser.
After everything I had done, I realized my husband needed to face the consequences.
He had no idea what I was capable of because I hadn’t always been just a mother and housewife.
What I did next left him in complete sh0ck.
I calmly carried the food back into the kitchen, put my son to bed, and for the first time in many years, I stopped thinking about my husband and what my family wanted.