18 years.
So, she died in 2008.
from cancer. melanoma. She left me with a 4 year old boy and a 2 year old girl. And I changed who I was. I was the protector of my kids.
I gave up all my ambitions, because I loved them so much. Raising them to be good and loving and smart and everything was more important than my ambitions. I chose to be a teacher at their school, so that I could be with them. I thought if I worked somewhere else, my kids wouldn't see me or interact with someone who cared about them as their primary concern. And they didn't have the presence of their mother. So I taught at their school for 10 years, until they graduated. And then I taught at my daughters high school. But my kids thought this was normal.
And no one has ever said anything. I feel so marginalized. I don't think anyone knows what I've done. Maybe it's true, I've done nothing. But I would give my life for my children.
BTW, I created this sub. I try to moderate. But this is me.