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Which one sentence changed your life?

(141 Posts)
greennan Tue 23-Oct-18 11:36:41

A friend sent me a link to THIS THREAD on Mumsnet which made for such poignant and thoughtful reading and afterwards I thought it would be really interesting to pose the same question here. So which one sentence changed your life? I will start with a happy one

Will you marry me?

It's worth reading the Mumsnet thread if you have time but definitely have tissues at the ready

oldbatty Wed 24-Oct-18 16:59:28

A lady phoned and I told her you could play the piano.

My mother on the phone to a teacher training college.

nigglynellie Wed 24-Oct-18 16:49:12

'It's your mother, I can't wake her up'! My stepfather, ringing me up at 7.30, Monday, 9th June 1986. She had died in her sleep! He died of cancer 8 months later. It was as an awful year as they were both much loved by all of us.

sarahellenwhitney Wed 24-Oct-18 16:40:49

Giving me a lift home after one of our dates and as I was getting out of the car although not looking at me he said 'I love you.' Although our relationship was not to be my life changed from that moment.

CrazyGrandma2 Wed 24-Oct-18 16:31:31

"And which part of Birmingham do you come from?"
First thing he said to me back in November 1969 and we are still together.

kwest Wed 24-Oct-18 16:23:12

In the depths of a recession and working every hour to keep our business afloat I was talking to my cousin one day. She said "Don't be a victim". It was just what I needed to give me a kick up the bum and to straighten myself up again. We eventually overcame our business problems by sheer hard grind. My cousin had overcome much worse things in her life and unfortunately died of a brain tumour in her early sixties.

Bijou Wed 24-Oct-18 16:08:13

Il est mort.

AlgeswifeVal Wed 24-Oct-18 16:07:27

From hospital consultant to my husband.
It is mesothelioma and there is no treatment. You will have let nature take it’s course.

GreenGran78 Wed 24-Oct-18 16:06:44

annep. You are so right. My daughter didn't stay at school after 16 because she 'couldn't see the point of all that learning' She always worked hard in whatever jobs she took, and was quite successful in life. It was only in her 30s, married and with a child, that she decided that she wanted more from life.
She started a part-time degree course, and juggled marriage, work and studies. She finally graduated just weeks before her second child was born.
You have to decide when the time is right for you. No-one else can. And only you can find the inner resources to do it.

grannytotwins Wed 24-Oct-18 15:55:58

Neighbour: Your husband cleared your flat of everything this morning.

I was a newly wed. He’d not told me he was gay and gone to live with a man.

Hospital: Does your father suffer from fits because he’s had one and is unresponsive?

He was dead before I got there.

Let’s get married!

My wonderful DH who has transformed my life.

Mum, I’m pregnant.

My teenage daughter who was still at school. Her son is severely disabled. She has just got her Masters.

Sorry there’s more than one, but all life changing for me.

Speldnan Wed 24-Oct-18 15:38:35

20 years ago from my now ex husband. “I had an affair while I was away ( on business in Africa). I had to tell you because of the possibility of HIV” all tests were negative but we ended up divorcing after nearly 30 years of marriage. It came totally out of the blue and did literally change my life forever- and ultimately for the better with a new partner. His life changed too but it never did go well with that woman or any Subsequent ones ! Ha ha ha!!?

Matelda Wed 24-Oct-18 15:00:49

At the age of 66, trying to learn Spanish online, a random Russian said to me, "Why don't you learn Russian instead?" Now I'm on Skype most evenings of the week, learning the language and helping all sorts of Russian speakers with their English language and literature. So rewarding! Russians are thoughtful and loving people, and after having lived right through the Cold War, I can't believe how lucky and privileged I am to be actually talking to them. There is no chance I shall ever be bored or lonely, at least as long as I am compos mentis.

Rachel711 Wed 24-Oct-18 14:59:27

One was from a friend: You can never prove he's been seeing someone if he won't admit it- but is this how you want to spend the rest of your life?
And one from my dad: If you're not happy, finding a boyfriend won't make you happy- happiness comes from within yourself.

annep Wed 24-Oct-18 14:49:24

flowers for those with sad memories.

Theoddbird Wed 24-Oct-18 13:59:08

It was hearing my then husband arranging to meet a woman on the phone when I came home early. Can't remember his exact words though. I went on to meet new friends all over the country through a friendship site...went to balls a d parties arranged by members including myself. I got a lovely job and ended up buying a narrow boat to live on. My life totally changed because of that sentence I heard him saying....hahaha

annep Wed 24-Oct-18 13:27:20

Schnackie mine is similar to yours. I had been moaning to my line manager that it was my parents' fault I never got to university. moan groan ..wouldn't pay grammar school fees... had to leave to earn money..blah blah my usual gripes.. I was forty something. She suddenly pointed her finger and said firmly, No. ^You* are responsible for yourself! She was right. It changed my way of thinking. Certainly things happen in life which we can't control, but we are generally responsible for the path we take.

Smileless2012 Wed 24-Oct-18 13:17:15

Thank you EllanVillan you're very kind.

Sheilasue Wed 24-Oct-18 13:11:31

Our police liaison officers coming to our apartment to tell us ‘your son is dead’?

GabriellaG Wed 24-Oct-18 12:52:47

icanhandthemback

gringringrin
No...years apart not 1 year apart.
Gaps of 4y3m/5y6m/2y5m/4y10m.

icanhandthemback Wed 24-Oct-18 12:39:36

Caro57, what a lucky escape. Gabriella, I can relate to that although one year apart 5 times. ? Love them as I do, I needed big gaps between my children. Hats off to you.

Poppyann1 Wed 24-Oct-18 12:37:32

A lady I met in Corfu in the 70s said to me."You ought to put a bit of value on yourself my dear." After I'd told her I'd wasted 2 1/2 years on a man messing me around.i did just that and never looked back.x

Singlegrannie Wed 24-Oct-18 12:36:07

"He's gone into cardiac arrest ..."

GabriellaG Wed 24-Oct-18 12:15:08

GrannyIsland
Behind every cloud...
So glad there was a happy ending.

paperbackbutterfly Wed 24-Oct-18 12:13:33

'Anyone can get a degree it just takes will power and hard work' Said to me when I was 38 and didn't think I was clever enough for a university course. OU was brilliant and changed my life.

GabriellaG Wed 24-Oct-18 12:11:33

'It's a healthy boy/girl'
Five sentences, each one years apart and each one from the midwife who delivered each of my children.
My life was and is enriched and enhanced by their arrivals. grin

kazziecookie Wed 24-Oct-18 11:55:13

Really hard to choose just one as I have had quite an up and down life.
First husband
“I have been a bit friendly with a girl at work and her husband has found out”
Of course friendly really meant full on affair.
Second husband
“I don’t think I love you anymore”
Because he was having an affair with my close friend.
Also the ones everyone dreads getting when people close to you die
“your Mum has just passed away”
“we have found your Dad dead in his armchair”
“sorry your sister has just lost her battle with cancer”
I think my favourite ones though have been the twice I have been told
“You have a baby girl”