History with exes

Earlier this week, Elysha posted this on Facebook:

“Our children just discovered that Matt and I dated other people before dating each other and they are STUNNED.”

Charlie was especially appalled. As we told the story of an unforgettable dinner with one of my ex-girlfriends, Charlie turned to Elysha with a look that said, “Are you hearing this? How are you allowing this terrible man to continue living under this roof?”

We made it clear to the kids that most people date other people before getting married. It should not be surprising to discover that Mommy and Daddy were in other relationships before this one.

What might surprise Clara and Charlie are the following:

• I was the DJ at my ex-wife’s ex-husband’s wedding.
• I was the DJ at my ex-girlfriend’s wedding.
• I was the DJ and minister at a different ex-girlfriend’s wedding.
• I was the DJ at Elysha’s ex-boyfriend’s wedding.
• Elysha attended the wedding of one of my ex-girlfriends solo because I was working and unable to attend.
• I taught storytelling and directed the parents of Elysha’s ex-fiancé in a show featuring Holocaust survivors.

We later had those folks over for brunch, and Elysha’s ex-future mother-in-law appeared in another Speak Up show about year later.

I like to think of them as friends.

Perhaps I’ll save these stories for another day. If an unforgettable dinner with an ex-girlfriend is too much for Charlie to handle, this list might just send him over the edge.