The Health Benefits of Egg Yolks

“Hey Honey!” I greeted my, then, fiancé as he climbed back into the driver’s seat of the car where I’d been waiting. “I was just reading about egg yolks and that they aren’t as bad for us as some people think. Mom called and I told her maybe she should lay off dad for his egg intake!”

“You were talking to your mom the whole time I was gone?” He asked with disdain as we began our 20-mile journey home.

“Yeah, I was telling her about this book I’m reading. There’s a large part about eggs and they talk about all the nutrition that is in the yolk.” I ignored his, all-to-familiar, attempt to shame me for talking to my mom and further distance me from my family. Instead, I spoke excitedly, hoping to spark a conversation and change the previously sour mood of the day.

“YOU’RE STUPID! YOU’RE IGNORANT! EGG YOLKS ARE NOT HEALTHY!” Rage filled my ex-fiancé’s voice as he continued to yell and belittle me for my comment about eggs.

I can remember a silent resolve filling my mind and my heart as he carried on beside me. I removed my engagement ring from my finger and placed it in the center console.

“I am not stupid. I will not and cannot live my life this way anymore. I refuse to spend forever like this.” I stated as a flood of emotions rocked me to my core.

Our entire relationship had been nothing short of a mess. Oddly enough, it was a conversation about egg yolks, of all things, that was the proverbial 2x4 that God used to strike me over the head and bring me to my senses.

Within a matter of seconds, his demeanor changed as he pulled the car to a stop on the side of the road. I could see the confusion in his eyes at my sudden bravery and he must have read the sincerity on my face as he began to grovel.

“I didn’t mean it! You aren’t stupid or ignorant! I don’t even know what ignorant means!” He back peddled quickly as tears filled his eyes. He brought his hands to his face trying to push down his anger as he made a frantic attempt to regain his control over me.

My resolve was intact. We’d been here before. While he was verbally and emotionally abusive, I was the one who made the mistake of saying ‘yes’ to marrying him; not once but twice. The first time we were engaged I ended it for the same reasons I did the second time, only the second time would be the last as I finally came to my senses for good.

More groveling ensued as I stood my ground, something neither he nor I were accustomed to. We were chartering new territory as he drove us back to his house. Silence soon took over as we both tried to come to terms with what had happened.

I can remember the tears streaming down my cheeks and the tumult of emotions within as I experienced sadness for the relationship lost, as well as gladness for my freedom gained. It felt as though I was being unchained from my prison cell, though I had been denying that the chains ever existed. The ironic thing was that, while he had built and kept me locked in that cell, I was actually the one who had entered it in my own free will and I was the only one who could set myself free.

Difficult weeks followed the breakup but with each day I found more and more of my old self and began to grow from my experience rather than let it hold me down. He met and married another woman within a year of our breakup. I waited. I waited years for the right one, not really believing that he existed.

He did. With 2 years as his wife and a beautiful daughter by our side, he still does, and will forever exist as my Mr. Right. I am so incredibly thankful for the health benefits of egg yolks.