The Thing About Ex's Is...

That they never go away!!!

They will always be your ex-boyfriend, no matter what stage of life you are in, or how over them you are, or how long you've been broken up, they are still your ex! And every time you see them they will be just that, your ex. Running into them is an experience everyone cringes and gasps air over. Lets face it, no one likes it!

My particular ex situation is an exceptionally wonderful one (and by wonderful I mean nightmare scenario). Everyone else in the world just so happens to run into their ex or hear about them at random moments in their life. But since I am an idiot (don't act like I'm not) I decided to date someone that if it didn't work out, well it wouldn't just be random moments in life that I would run into him. It would be very well calculated and the least desirable moments that I would get to run into him.

See, my ex is my sister-in-laws (in other words, for the slow, my brother's wife's) first cousin. OUCH. And since we broke up he's moved to Houston (about 10 minutes from my brother and sister-in-law) and has resided there. Since we broke up a year and a half ago, I've had the pleasure (haha...I GUESS you could call it that) of "running" into him on Christmas, Halloween, one nieces birth, two nieces birthdays and a graduation.

Let me just remind you, in case you have forgotten, on holidays and family occasions you REALLY want to get away from things like ex's and any thought that reminds you of them. But instead of being like most of the natural world, I made the decision a few years ago that if things didn't work out with my boyfriend that running into an ex at every family function wouldn't be so bad. WOW...I'd like to revoke that decision.

So that has been the state of things for a year and a half now. I realized from the day I broke up with him that there would be a day when one or the other of us would move on and bring a significant other home. I was just not expecting it to be this way.

To make a longer story short (cause this introduction is already out of control), I found out yesterday that he just this past weekend moved a girl in to live with him.

Not only did she move in with him, but she moved from Missouri to live with him.

And not only did she move in with him, but she used to date him.

Like before we dated.

Like right before we dated.

Like he broke up with her to date me.

(Sorry for all the likes, I was born in California, in my defense.)

So apparently the story goes (And this is the story that I broke down and pried from my brother. I am usually soooooo good about not prying information about my ex out of my brother. Just a promise I made to myself from the beginning. So anyways, my brother being the guy he is, it's probably lacking a lot of the information.), that a few weeks ago the girl came down to Houston to visit my ex. After that one weekend she decided to move down and move in with him. So this past weekend he went up there to get her. She doesn't have a job here or any sort-of income. Just going to see how it goes.

My first thought was, well he's going to get a taste of his own medicine. Because he moved in with me without a job (but then decided to never get one, and bummed off of me). And I was glad that he'd finally get to see what that was like.

Then again, maybe he'd have sympathy for her because of that. And maybe she's going to get off easy because of his experience with the lack of being able to find a job. And in that case....wow, have fun with that.

Next, I remembered all the things he told me about her. It sounded as if he wouldn't date her any longer whether or not I came around. So either she's changed unbelievably, or he's just lowered his standards to her. In which case, that is sad.

Not to mention the fact that it is sad that she was willing to take him back after he left her for me all those years ago.

But maybe they are meant to be. Lets be honest. I broke up with him. I have always felt bad about it. I really thought that was the man I was going to marry. And he moved all the way from Missouri to be with me. But then I straight broke up with him and kicked him out. I have always hoped he would find someone meant for him and therefore take the pressure off of me. So having another girl in my place is good. And maybe she is so like him that it is a match made in heaven. And in that case, I am glad he is with another girl.

Except this girl. I don't know this girl from Adam. Lets think about this. He broke up with her to be with me. SHE HATES ME. There is no getting around this fact. It doesn't matter who she is, SHE HATES ME. As she now sees it, I got in her way for a few years of them being together.

This wouldn't be soooo bad if it was a typical ex-boyfriend. But this is the guy that I run into on nearly every holiday. Which means, if things work out for them, I will run into her on nearly every holiday. Any other girl would look at me and think, "well I am glad she broke up with him because it allowed me to be with him."

(Haha...well in MY mind that is what the nice, rational girl would think.)

But you KNOW this girl is going to think, "that's the B that took my man away from me for a few years."

It's hard to be cordial with that girl. A LOT harder than it would be with the other girl.

After I had pried all the information I could out of my brother, I then asked, "is she going to be there for Thanksgiving?"

(Because in the scheme of what's important in life, that IS my top priority right now.)

He didn't know. He (as in my brother) didn't even know this girl was his ex-girlfriend. I had to inform him of that little bit of information. But now for the next month and a half that is what I have to worry about.

Will the girl that HATES MY GUTS be at the family function where all I really want to do is stuff my guts???

Life lesson to be learned here - don't date someone that is planted so close to the family tree.

(Though I feel most of the world would be smarter than I on this one. But hey, just in case, it needed to be said.)