A Relationship Well-lived

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

“So it goes”
— Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five

I met Hannah Beazley in 1999.

We married on 19 March 2005.

Innumerable highlights (and lowlights), some of which include:

• Establishment of a business, which together we ran for 5 years, then sold.
• Multiple overseas trips. Vietnam, Hong Kong, Italy, USA, Croatia, Singapore, Bali. Each of these trips with their own massive collection of memories and experiences.
• Hannah’s chronic medical challenges, which resulted in near death, as then virtually unknown hypereosinsophilia ravaged her body.
• Two children, when for the longest time we figured that number would be zero because of the aforementioned medical issues.
• Home ownership.
• Political campaigns, culminating in her becoming the Member for Victoria Park.

18 years of marriage.

Now, that chapter comes to a close.

Life is long. People grow and change. Wants and needs change and morph.

I will never have another marriage, or even relationship, like the one I’ve had with Hannah. My heart sings with happiness about the time we’ve had together. I look forward to continuing to work with Hannah on our shared lifelong project of parenting our two beautiful boys. The time for romantic love, however, has come to an end. In its place is admiration, respect and appreciation for a friend who has been there through the highs and lows, and will continue to be there for our children as they experience the highs and lows of their own lives.

Stoicism has been a helpful support over the past few months. Concerning myself with the controllables, and letting everything else be, has been a great help. I thank my friends and family for their support. Emotions are hard and having shoulders has been a blessing.

Despite the massive change this change of relationship status entails, I feel sanguine. A life is long. I have been rewarded with a successful relationship that lasted 24 years. This is a thing deserving of marvellous celebration. An end is not a failure. Our relationship brought two new incredible people into a world that needs more incredible people in it. Now that relationship closes, and I feel appreciation and kindness towards the one I shared it with. I am so grateful there is no domestic violence, hatred, drug abuse, or other negative elements. The relationship ran its course and ended well. That is a good thing.

Now, Hannah and I both enter new phases of our lives, and we work to ensure our children understand that this can be a good thing for us and them.

For me, it’s an opportunity to once more spread my wings. To try new things, meet new people and explore the world on my own terms. There will be hard, lonely and depressing times. I know this to be true. But there is a chance for a recreation, a rebirth.

I look forward to what comes next as I strive to live my best life.