Erin
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Nov 24, 2004
- Messages
- 2,783
Date: 10/18/2006 4:08:02 PM
Author: Kaleigh
On the edge of my seat!!!
Anyway, sistagirl was close to right—when I posted that kind of mysterious post (not wanting to jinx anything,) I did think there might be something to report soon. And then, there wasn’t. And I wasn’t in a good place and just couldn’t deal with posting. I was actually all set to do an update anyway this week, but……things have taken a major turn in another direction! I think I need to do a (as nutshell as possible) update.
So back in late June, the separation ended, he wasn’t ready, you all know that part. We had some joint counseling therapy sessions (before I headed out on tour) to kind of handle the mechanics of the break-up…..it was kind of a gradual break-ING up, vs. just a break-up if that makes sense, since it takes some doing after a decade. I was leaving, that was going to be it. Well in that time something kind of interesting began to happen--the “post-mortem” counseling sessions brought about this crazy new level of communication, honesty, trust, falling barriers, etc. between us—it was like getting to the point of realizing we were going to be over and looking at everything he was going to lose sort of validated “us” and set off this sort of relationship epiphany—like something very real had turned over in him. It was very cautious, but I suddenly was like OH, this is “us 2.0,” it could be so GREAT between us. Too bad, huh, ‘cause you’re still not ready and I have to go.
Well you can see where this goes. Nowhere. The deadline comes and goes. He gets within about 5mm of proposing, but doesn’t. He says things that are dancing their way around it, but not the thing itself, and after all this time, with his personal history of ambivalence (which btw, is about HIM and his personality and not about me or about our relationship…that’s his issue) I’m not about to assume ANYTHING. A proposal would have had to be clear cut with him or I would always have doubt or insecurities and I don’t want to feel like I pushed it anymore than I already did before, you know? It was devastating, because I knew, 100% without any doubt that he wanted to be with me and spend his life with me. And yet he wasn’t there. I’m sure that probably sounds counter-intuitive and people might say, “well duh, if he wanted to be with her he’d propose!! He doesn’t love you enough to marry you! Get over it, schweethaaaht!” but it’s not that simple—ergo the therapy!! He was dealing with 33 years of overdue issues of HIS own which were totally independent of his wanting that with me. But bottom line: that didn’t make it ok, and that couldn’t make me wait another freaking day. Not anymore.
It was even more devastating than in June, because this time it was much further to fall—I had seen how amazing our relationship could be—we had been treating each other with real care and kindness in a way we hadn’t in YEARS….the last 2-3 years of LIW, are we or aren’t we entropy had made us start to ROT at our core and be so resentful and evil to each other. Taking each other for granted, etc….at least this way, I knew I had truly given EVERY opportunity and couldn’t have a single “what if” left that I might have if I’d just called it a day in June. But it sucked. And I hadn’t let a lot of friends in to the information about the “extension,” for fear of being judged or deemed a sucker or whatever, so I kept a lot of this in. (Duh!) It wasn’t an immediate cut. We spoke sporadically. He was text messaging me frequently about how much he loved me and wanted to spend his life with me. Nice, huh? (Hello, money, mouth, put?) He talked about how now he finally actually DID feel ready and just had to DO it. (This was a first.) But I said I just couldn’t wait anymore. This went on for a few weeks. I considered it “We’re not together, but we’re not totally broken up.” There were a few détente days—we went to wal mart together to buy Mattie a dog bed, took him to the vet, watched Tucker flop on DWTS—had these flashes of “us” and then I’d just get seized by a spasm of WHY am I even TALKING to you, you HAD your choice, you made it by NOT making it, STOP it. GO AWAY.
So finally around 5 1/2 weeks ago It was a Saturday, don’t know the date, that was it. I stopped by his house (at this point we’d only been having contact once or twice a week for 3 weeks or so anyway.) And just said I’m tired of talking about TALKING about our relationship. I am tapped out, empty, done. Don’t call me. Don’t text message me. You know where I stand, and unless you are ready to make that commitment, please do not get in touch with me. I will get in touch regarding putting my things in storage and getting my dog back, but otherwise, do not contact me. And seriously, as we’re standing on his front porch having this (painful but very quiet and civil) conversation, WEDDING BELLS start pealing from the church down the street. He’s shaking his head and saying, listen to that, it’s kismet, what is WRONG with me. I’m like well…Yeah. I have to go.
So I did. And we were totally apart, relationship over, broken up for five weeks. It sucked. It was empty. I was alone at home all of Columbus Day weekend and spent most of it in the same pair of pajamas watching an all day L&O SVU marathon. Oh, fun fun, also had a serious injury during this time—a handle BROKE OFF a pot of boiling water and I got 2nd degree partial thickness burns on my left foot and right thigh (I have gnarly pictures but I’m afraid they’re too gross for PS) on 9/29. So that—and the plane into the building (4 blocks from his parents' apartment, aside from sending me back in time 5 years into PTSD land as I’m sure it did many NYers)—both were rough things to deal with without picking up the phone to call him. But I did not contact him a single time. I was a good little blue poodle. It didn’t feel real, but it was like chugging up a hard hill and I was reaching the top and getting close to rounding the cusp. Like, I was beginning to accept that this was my reality. I didn’t *like* that this was my reality, but it was what it was.
Well. Life can change really. Really. Fast.
I had a therapy session Friday. We talked about how it was really time to make that final cut by getting Mattie back and getting my stuff out of his garage and into storage. I had done the legwork and had a storage space all picked out and was going to call him on Saturday to figure out the logistics for transferring the pooch and the stuff.
Friday night I went to bed early for me and was already asleep at 10:57 when my phone beeped with a text message. Something in me somehow knew it was him. I got out of bed and it said “Got a few minutes for a guy?” Had I been awake I would have waited to respond or perhaps even not responded at all, but in my half-asleep (more intuitive?) state I wrote back “Tomorrow. Sleeping now.” He wrote back ok, and that he was sorry.
So I’m of course, then wide awake. I know what this COULD be about but I’m not even going there. This could be, hey, I’m going out of town, can you take the dog. Or- I’ve taken up the hula, I bought a house, I hate you and wanted to officially break up in person, I’m gay, I’m a robot, I mean, whatever, I’m being silly but I was trying to think of any other reason that he could be wanting to get a few minutes of my time when I had said DO NOT CALL ME--unless.
Saturday I have a girlie day w/ my friend….we had a “date” at Nordies to have our make-up done (it was an event thingy) and had dinner. No word from the boy. The last message had been from him, so I wondered if he expected to hear from me. I thought, let him wait.
Sunday, (insert heavy audible sigh and bitchy business-like tone from me) I text message him “So. You wanted a few minutes?” He writes “Can I see you?” I write “I suppose. Briefly. I can meet you this afternoon. Why.” Jokester writes back “Let’s just say I could tell you but then I’d have to kill you” Oh. Great. I’m SO in the mood for THIS kind of yukking it up after 5 weeks of nothing between us, right??!! Anyway, we agree to meet up after I get done with a Costco run, he will meet me at our local coffeehouse.
I go, get a mocha and a scone and am making myself busy doing some work. He comes in. He looks terrible. (Like, he’s been sick and stressing himself out of eating and lost 5 pounds terrible.) We chitty-chat, talk about my foot, our friend with an 11 month old who’s pregnant again, blahblah. He asks if I’ll go over to his house, I sigh heavily, WHY, he says he wants to talk to me. So I agree. (It’s 2 blocks away)