'Reminiscing' Over a Honeymoon That Went Way Wrong

My horoscope today said "expect some sentimental reminiscing." I rarely check out my horoscope, but that section in the paper happened to be next to a Dear Abby column where a woman was complaining about her verbally abusive husband. That kind of caught my eye.

So I wasn't really in a "sentimental reminiscing" sort of mood today, but I ended up watching a Tivo'd re-run of "Modern Family," my absolute favorite show....and it was the first of the two-part episode where the entire family goes to Hawaii. I love that episode. And they just happen to go to Maui and stay at the Four Seasons resort, which is right next door to the gorgeous Grand Wailea resort where my ex-husband and I stayed on our honeymoon. As I watched the episode, I couldn't help noticing the backdrop -- the very beach where Neil and I spent a lot of time while we were there. And I couldn't help reminiscing. But, it ended up not being the kind of reminiscing you'd expect from a honeymoon in tropical paradise.

Because no matter how hard I try to remember the beauty of Maui, I end up thinking about how I actually left two days early, returning home alone, completely broken-hearted. What kind of a man yells at his wife and repeatedly calls her a f--king b-tch while on their honeymoon?? Even now, in this "reminiscing" kind of mood, I still don't understand it. It seems incomprehensible to me. I've never even heard of a person leaving their honeymoon early, returning alone to an empty house and wondering who the hell they married.

When I told my friends, after I got over the embarrassment and shame I felt for having had to deal with such a horrendous situation, they were stunned. One of my close friends even cried. She couldn't believe the way I was treated and said she thought it was tragic that I felt compelled to leave my beloved Hawaii early. I was born there, and it's one of two places in the world where I feel most at home.

But, I've decided that I'm not going to let that devastating experience taint Hawaii in any way. Someday I'll go back to Maui and create completely new memories there that will wipe away the old. Then, I'll have something that is truly worth reminiscing.