“Yeah, I totally get that,” she said confidently.

“No, you don’t.” I wanted to say. “You can’t.

You can’t understand how it changes everything for you.

Maybe right away, so you know immediately that you’ll never be the same. Maybe so subtly that you aren’t even aware of it as it creeps up on you.

It’s not just the fighting, the tension, the crying. It’s not trying to stay loyal to both of them, or comforting your own parents when you just need a hug yourself.

It’s way beyond that. It’s how your whole life perspective changes.

It’s how you see a couple and wonder how long they will last. A month, or three? A year, maybe five? A decade, possibly a handful of decades?

It’s watching couples that you know, thinking about the things about each person that will eventually drive the other person crazy, wondering if it will be a deal-breaker.

Above all, it’s thinking deep down that there’s no happily ever after out there for you. You can watch movies about it, listen to songs about it, and read stories about it, but you never really believe that it’s possible.

That’s what the difference is.”

“No, you don’t.”