Memory Bank Fraud

I'm trying to start a relationship with a woman, but I can't stop thinking about my last girlfriend. I want a family (eventually), so I couldn't marry her. She already has two children, which is a dealbreaker for me, and has other baggage: debt and baby daddy drama. But, we developed a deep love, and I'm having a hard time getting over her.

--Stuck

It was the best of times, it was the best of times. And it's called selective remembering. Your mental projector keeps playing this loop of your ex trying on lingerie. There are never any misty shots of the repo man or your ex emerging from the mist to chase the baby daddy with a big cleaver. And where are the little mind movies of her children? Or as you call them, "dealbreakers," not "dealbenders." Keeping this woman as your fantasy girlfriend will be a wedge between you and any woman you're with in real life. To move on, harness the power of negative thinking. Sure, go ahead and indulge. Take that walk down memory lane with your ex. Just be sure you ask the cameraman to pull out to reveal the stroller you're pushing with some other guy's screaming kids in it.