The one moment that might have changed your life direction

[GlitterUnicornsAndAllThatJazz]

I'm sure we all have one.

A moment we think back to and made a decision - maybe it seemed full of meaning then or maybe it seemed insignificant at the time.

But you can't help but look back on that moment as the moment when things were to go one way or another.

Mine:

There was a huge complicated backstory to my relationship with this man.

We were in the south of france at the time. That afternoon a decade ago now he asked me to go with him to biarritz that same night. I only had a few hours to think and I chose not to.

I wonder just how different things would be if I'd said yes, for better or worse.

DH got a new laptop and gave it to me to have a play with. I didn't know what to do so went onto friends reunited and typed in my birth mum's name ( quite an unusual name) and got a hit.
Opened the door to an entire birth family.

I've name changed for this as it's something I've talked about with friends many times.

In my mid-20s I had a boyfriend. We were very happy. A few months are we got together he mentioned he was having a physical symptom. I knew that this symptom could be a sign of cancer, but I decided not to to tell him. I didn't want him freaked out by his newish girlfriend so I kept quiet. He was going to the GP so I figured if it was anything to worry about the GP would mention it.

The GP diagnosed him with an infection and left it at that. Six months later the hospital diagnosed him with stage four cancer after he collapsed. A year later he died. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I'd mentioned cancer to him. Maybe he'd have pushed his GP. Maybe he'd have been treated earlier. I don't know.

Many years later I'm happily married to somebody else and have two children. Life has moved on. I love my family now. But that boyfriend I believe was my soulmate, if you can have such a thing.

My Mum bought me a ticket to a fundraiser for a local treatssment centre I was attending and asked me to join both herself and my DD at the fundraiser that evening. I had gone from gorgeous, fiercely independent university student to reliant on my Mother for my personal care and pretty much housebound. My confidence had plummeted. I refused but my parents insisted. That night I met my DH!

Funnily enough, my DH had a similar sliding doors moment that day. He was working backshift and finished around 10 pm. His parents had family staying and he hadn't intended to go.( In fact, they were not happy at all that he popped his head in to say hello especially after a mutual friend introduced us.) We ended up texting each other the next day and we met the following weekend, the rest is history. Fifteen years later and we are both so glad that we chose to go that night!

excuse the typo it should say treatment

Shit one: diagnosed with MS.

TableShack why weep? These are stories of a moment in time that changed things forever. Some very sad, some horrific, some joyous. Many recounting how partners were met. How does that make us all anti-feminist? It is just one aspect of who we are - albeit, a critical and major influencing one, but still. If you want to start a thread asking us to share our career defining moments I'm in. Go for it. I have good stories.

My abusive XPs lodger, a lovely man called Richard, who liked me and just wanted to be friends with me. I was amazed, I had never met a man who didn't try to fuck me before. One day Richard said "he shouldn't treat you like that, it's really not nice". I didn't leave XP then, not for years, but it was the point the tide turned. Up until then I believed XP was treating me entirely normally.

I often wonder how Richard's life turned out. I hope he is happy too.

Lots of interesting and heartwarming stories on here.

A few for me but one stands out. Whilst ttc a few years ago i had had 2 miscarriages. I sought out a private consultation with an obstetrician as it was quicker than the nhs. He said it wasn't surprising, not to worry and just keep ttc. The nhs appt then came through sooner than i expected and i decided to go along to see what they said. The consultant offered to test me for any issues 'just in case'. Found out i have a blood clotting condition that causes m/c if I'm not on blood thinning meds. I conceived dc1 a month later and carried to term. If i hadnt gone to the appt or it hadnt been brought forward, i would have miscarried. I know i may have gone on to have a different child and been none the wiser, but the idea that dc1 might not have existed is awful and i feel so lucky the dr went against guidelines and tested me early.

Turning down a job offer from Emirates. My career and bank account would have benefited hugely, but I didn't fancy living in a roasting hot, misogynistic sand pit.

I had been on a dating site for a while and had met a few frogs! Hadn't been on in for a few months and in January 2012 logged on to delete my profile only to find message from now DH. Fast forward 6 years and we are happily married with DS and crazy dog! So glad I logged on!!

perfume but table is waiting for your happy ever after Prince Charming rescue story you seem to have miss that bit out