One of the most popular pieces of advice most couples give to newlyweds is: “Never go to bed angry.”
Easier said than done, I’m afraid. But one wife is urging other couples to take this seemingly generic advice seriously after suddenly losing her husband in his sleep.
Ashley Murrell got into a heated argument with her husband, Mikey, after he came home from a 16-hour shift at work.
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It started when the 33-year-old told her husband she was concerned he was stretching himself too thin and running himself into the ground.
“He was so exhausted all the time and he was running himself into the ground and his health was going downhill fast.”
Granted, the feud was rooted in Ashley’s desire to look out for her husband’s best interest, but the disagreement was not resolved before the couple went to sleep.
“When he came home that night he was a mess, I have never seen him so exhausted. I couldn’t stand seeing him like that and I got angry. I was sick of it.”
Ashley suggested Mikey sleep on the sofa.
“I had a go at him and told him to sleep on the sofa which was stupid because I really just wanted him around more.”
“Never go to bed angry,” took on a whole new meaning that night.
When she woke the next morning, Ashley’s worst nightmare became a reality. On the couch she found Mikey, dead where he’d laid down to sleep.
“Mikey was so caring,” the widow says of her husband. “If he walked into a room and saw someone unhappy he would be the first person there trying to cheer them up.”
Ashley later found out that her husband had been working the extra hours as a carpet cleaner to save money for their anniversary on July 3. He was planning a trip for the two of them to Prague.
“He would work 16-hour shifts, seven days a week just so he could save up enough to take us all to Disney every year. He was so worn out but he would do anything just to see us smile.”
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Ashley says she’d give anything to change the course of that night. Her final words to Mikey will forever be etched in her mind.
“I felt so guilty. I was so angry with myself for making him sleep on the sofa. I still find it so hard to think that my last words to him were out of anger.”
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Now, the grieving mother of three wants other couples to know the weight behind “never going to bed angry.”
“Losing Mikey has changed my entire perspective on life. Life is too short to go to bed angry and not to spend every moment you can with your family.”
My heart breaks for Ashley and her family. I pray that her experience would be a stronger reminder to each of us today to resolve conflicts with our loved ones before the night ends…for we never know what morning will hold.
