Runaway Bride… or Just Running Toward Myself?

Let’s talk about Runaway Bride, starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere.

It’s the story of a woman who becomes known for running away from her own weddings — not because she’s afraid of love…

…but because she doesn’t actually know who she is inside of it.

There’s a moment in the movie that says everything.

She doesn’t know how she likes her eggs.

Scrambled? Fried? Poached?

Her answer?

“Whatever he’s having.”

And I remember thinking:

“Girl… that’s a problem.”

Meanwhile, life said:

“Oh, you thought this wasn’t about you?”

Reality Check!

The “I’ll Have What He’s Having” Phase

If I’m being honest…

I’ve lived that life.

Hobbies?

I didn’t pick them…

I followed them.

With my ex-husband, it was fishing.

And not the cute, sit-on-a-dock kind.

I’m talking about the day a 60-pound spoonbill fish showed up…

…on my kitchen counter…

…like it paid rent.

And there I was…

“Yep. I got this.”

Ma’am…

I don’t even eat fish.

But I cleaned it anyway.

In my kitchen.

Letting my house smell like low tide and bad decisions for weeks.

Because somewhere along the way, I thought:

“This is what you do when you love someone.”

And maybe it is…

…but it shouldn’t cost you yourself.

Marriage 2.0: The Motorcycle Era

Now, my second marriage?

Completely different story.

This is my motorcycle era, his hobby still.

But here’s the thing…

I actually love it.

But not the way I used to approach things.

I’m not hopping on just to say I did it.
I’m not racing to the destination.
I’m not pretending to enjoy something just to keep up.

I’m the one saying:

“Hey… can we pull over?”

Because I want:

The small stops.
The roadside views.
The random mom-and-pop restaurants you’d miss if you blinked.

I want the ride.

That little pat on my leg to the rhythm of the music…

The wind, the quiet, the moment.

That’s what I signed up for.

And here’s the difference now:

I didn’t lose myself in it.

I found myself in it.

Because in Marriage 2.0…

I still show up.

I still try.

I still step into his world sometimes.

But now?

I bring myself with me.

No more personality rentals.
No more “sure, I love that” when I absolutely do not.

And definitely…

no more cleaning fish I don’t eat.

We’re still moving forward…

I’m just not disappearing along the way anymore.

The Slow Fade

The truth is…

You don’t always lose yourself in big, dramatic moments.

Sometimes it’s quiet.

It’s saying yes when you don’t mean it.
It’s adapting instead of asking.
It’s going along with it because it feels easier than figuring yourself out.

And then one day…

You pause and think:

“Do I even like this?”

And the scary part?

You don’t immediately know the answer.

The Question That Changes Everything

That egg scene?

It stayed with me.

Because it’s not about eggs.

It’s about identity.

It’s about sitting down — by yourself — and asking:

“What do I actually like?”

Not what I’ve learned to like.
Not what I’ve adjusted to.
Not what I’ve tolerated.

But what’s mine.

The Real Me (No Performance Required)

Turns out…

I’m not complicated.

I just spent years acting like I was in a group project I didn’t sign up for. 😏

I love:

The smell of fresh-cut grass.
Flowers in the morning.
A blues song that feels like it understands me.
A candle, the first time it’s lit.

The snap of blankets on a clothesline.
The crackle of a fire on a cool spring night.

The smell of a wood stove warming the house.
And when my son stops everything just to tell me about his day.

The small things.

The real things.

The things that never required me to change who I was.

Turns out…

I was never hard to please.

I just needed to stop pretending.

What I Know Now

I won’t pretend anymore.

Not to keep the peace.
Not to keep a relationship.
Not to keep up.

Because we’re all headed to the same destination eventually…

And I’d rather enjoy the ride than fake my way through it.

Final Thought From The Rekindle Room

Maybe I wasn’t a runaway bride.

Maybe I was just running…

trying to figure out who I was in the middle of everything else.

And the truth?

I’ve always been this woman.

I just had to stop trying not to be her.

👠 The Real Question

Do you know what you like…

or are you still choosing based on who you’re sitting across from?

🔥 And just remember:

“I’m not running anymore… I’m choosing the ride.”

— JC 👠🔥