08/06/2025
I had been with my fiancรฉ Greg for about 9 months. His birthday was coming up, and I wanted to give him something thoughtful instead of just buying a shirt or a gadget. So I decided to make a small scrapbook. I filled it with photos from our dates, little ticket stubs from the movies we'd seen, cute post-it notes I'd written him, and inside jokes.
When I gave it to him on his birthday, he just thanked me and put it up on a shelf in his living room.
But then, during his birthday dinner with his friends, someone asked him what I gifted. Greg grabbed my scrapbook off the shelf, waved it around and said, "Look at this. Straight outta middle school relationship core." THEN HE TOSSED IT IN THE TRASH. Right there. In front of everyone.
I sat there frozen, cheeks burning. He laughed too and said, "Babe, relax. It's just a joke."
A joke.
I felt humiliated. That night, when I got home, I cried. I kept thinking maybe I was being childish. Maybe scrapbooks were lame. Maybe I'd embarrassed him. But the hurt wouldn't go away.
The next evening, Greg's best friend Mark invited us over for a small get-together.
When we got there, Mark seemed a littleโฆ WORRIED. He was quieter than usual while everyone settled in. Then, after about 15 minutes, he suddenly stood up.
And in his hands was MY scrapbook. He looked at Greg and slowly said, "Greg, do you recognize this? โฌ๏ธ