Things Could Always be Worse

Friday, June 19, 2009


This is usually what I tell myself when I'm feeling down but it has become much more apparent with this recent update from a friend of mine. She is a stylist with her own salon. About a year ago she got a new assistant (we'll call her Shelly) that had moved here from Washington with her husband of many years & their son. Her husband (we'll can him Dan) also worked as a stylist at the salon. Now, I have worked in the beauty industry for years in a few different salons & I've worked with a lot of male hairdressers - most of them straight but when I saw Dan I remember thinking "Seriously? They've been married for more than 10 years?" Everything about him set off my gaydar in a big way. Turns out I was right & I couldn't be more sad for Shelly.

A few weeks ago, her told her he was gay & wanted a divorce. She was devastated - absolutely heartbroken. She was barely into the "How is this my life? How could I be so stupid?" phase when a couple of days later he woke her up at 3am to tell her that not only is he gay - he's HIV POSITIVE! Chances are he never even would have told her he was gay if he wasn't HIV positive. He would have gone on with his double life indefinitely. I can't even imagine what she's going through right now.

When I start feeling sorry for myself, I think of Shelly & the fact that not only is her husband gay, he's been sleeping around for God knows how long & has possibly infected her with HIV.

Yes siree, things could always be worse......

3 comments:

Brandy said...

This is such a horrid thing! Poor, poor Shelly, she must be going through hell.

I tell myself that things could be worse all of the time, it's practically my motto!

Hope your doing ok and feeling better and better each day.

elizabeth said...

... there but for the grace of God go I. Always helps provide some perspective.

Bumpy Belly said...

Ha! When I was a kid, my mom would always say "It could be worse!" whenever I complained about anything. Of course it drove me nuts back then. I used to say, "Mom! Things could always be worse! I could be hit by a bus, laying on the street with 15 broken bones and it could technically get worse!"

Now, though, I think I see what she was saying. Not necessarily that we should think of the bad things that could happen to us. More like, think of what we do have to be grateful for. You're young and intelligent and funny and creative (yes, I know all of this just from your blog) and you are going to be OK.

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