People. Pssshhhhht!

February’s theme in the Creative Every Day Challenge is “Hearts” and this month mine has certainly been cleaved in twain over and over again. I tried to be ok on Valentine’s Day. I wanted it to go by uneventfully, but some jackhole from my past hurt me and hurt me bad. I had a reason to be foul. Yes I did.

I had this fleeting idea that I might get back together with someone from my distant past. We discussed it, we toyed with it, and on Valentine’s Day he showed me just how much I need to not be considering that as an option. He apologized for hurting me but I was foolish to let him near my heart again and should have learned my lesson long ago. It was a glitch in the smooth passing holiday I was trying to ignore. Then, after him, slightly scuffed and shaken, DG threw me a little further down the lane of the scorned with an email that was 100% a “Piss-off” letter.

The thing is, I’d gotten over that. I made sure of it (with magical spells and all to get over the dumping he swore wasn’t a dumping…). I just missed our friendship, our conversations like I wrote the other day. I made a comment out of the blue because I have been truly upset at the zero time I’ve been allotted and all the brush offs, so he decided to write me a break up letter and it was pure and to form. You’re a lovely person but…(Dumping!). At this point in my life I need to focus. All I can offer you is friendship (which is all I wanted in the first place!). It just upset me like nothing else and I can’t tell you exactly why. Maybe it’s because he keeps repeating the rejection, as if I was too stupid to understand it the first time. As if I wasn’t aware that the brush off is a rejection every single time I say hello. It hurts every single time. He also sort of insulted me in other ways but I believe that’s because he doesn’t understand the scope of what I suffer with, but I didn’t need it nonetheless.

All I wanted was a reasonable amount of time and attention. We used to be actual close friends, check in on each other, speak regularly, joke, laugh, care, and so forth. He turned it off overnight. I don’t, for the life of me, understand what happened.  My instant gut reaction was that he never meant anything he’s ever said to me; that now, without a payoff, I’m not worth the time and trouble.

Is that what I deserve for caring about people? Well, Psssshhhht.

At any rate, despite his belief that I’m after something more, there is nothing now or ever that will induce me to let him near my heart again. Friends I hope we may remain since I’ve shared so much with him, but if this continues, I’m not sure that we will. It’s been a hurtful few days. What I’ve tried to do, instead of going back down my usual track of believing that all men are bad and uncaring, is to tell myself that this has just cleared the decks for my future. Now I’m open to meet someone who will truly value me should that opportunity present itself, though for right now, I’m just fine on my own. Two people let near the proverbial heart, two that stabbed it. Brilliant moves by me, again.

My son hits the double digits tomorrow and I’m going to use my energy to celebrate him and show him a good time. I so hope I can help mold him into a good man. These years are crucial and without a role model here, and I feel right guilty about this, I wonder how he will be. I can’t teach him to be a man, but I can show him what a woman shouldn’t put up with and what behavior makes mommy feel like an old sack of discarded tangerines so he knows what not to do to his girlfriend. A mother can hope.

Speaking of hope, I’m not ready to give up on me yet. I’m not back to bitter, just a little flustered by recent events but unlike my normal routine, I’m spinning a silver lining and seeing the open door instead of the closed window. Anyone who knows me will tell you that’s a bit of a miracle in itself.  This is a personal one and from a raw place, but some things you just need to get out. I’m hoping this will put it to bed. The deck’s cleared. I wonder what’s coming my way now? God, I hope it’s better.

Be Ok

Valentine’s Day. For years the very words evoked an eruption of vitriol from me that would rival that of a Vesuvius style explosion. A venomous tirade would usually take written form at some point during the day.

I’ve always hated it. Always.

My usual M.O. is to dress all in black (not unusual anyway, but I made a point of it on this day to counter-act all the pink), smoke my now outlawed clove cigarettes (which were also black), and mutter angrily. I have an array of snarky anti-valentine buttons. It’s an event.  Bitter much? You think?

This year I’ve been feeling ok. I’ve been somewhat enjoying being with myself and accepting that as a thing. That whole idea that I have to be fine by myself first has sunk in and as things have been passing by without any kind of reaction from me, I’ve been thinking perhaps this year would pass without incident. I’ve seen the displays of pink bears and heart-shaped boxes, seen people perusing the flowers, heard the commercials on the radio, displays of television jewelry, and sort of just went “Meh”. Better yet, a few times I’ve sort of thought to myself, “Well, that’s nice”. (What the ?!?!) 

All of that is a good sign…as in, I’m over it. It’s good to be over anger. It’s good to be over bitter. It’s not an attractive quality. The problem is, I’m fooling myself. Well, a little bit…

As the day draws ever nearer, I find myself accepting of my situation, yes. I’m fine being with me. I’m accepting of myself like never before (minus the donuts I ate this morning-what was I thinking?). I’ve even made plans to spend the evening with the only man in my life who I know loves me to pieces, my son. I figured we’d go out somewhere, maybe get ice cream, have some fun. It’s almost his birthday after all and there’s no one I’d rather spend a fun evening with.

Today though, I realized that I’m missing someone. A lot. Realizing that he’s not missing me is probably the worst part of that equation. Oh, I’ll get a damned Valentine card from him because I’m on his card list, but it’ll have nothing to do with me. I know that nothing will come of us and that’s probably for the best, but I miss the small stuff. I miss talking to him. I miss our afternoons chatting about randomness, all the stuff we have in common, ghosts, trips, plans, writing,  joking about stupid stuff, his bad jokes, calling him the weird names that I make up… just all the small things. Talking. I miss talking.

It came to me yesterday that he was the picture window to my fly. I could see no other way but him. There may yet be an open door off to the side, I just can’t see it, because I’m a dumb fly and the window is so bright. I can see outside. It’s got to be the way hasn’t it? You know how it is when something seems like it’s the exact thing you’re looking for and you just keep hitting your head against it over and over again?

Even though I’m over the romance part of it all, the friendship part is a big hole that I’m having a hard time with. Like I said, I miss the talking. Friend-zoned usually indicates a friendship…right? An occasional discussion? A conversation? A how do you do?…but I digress…

Now I’m back to sitting in my office alone with myself like I used to. I have no one calling me anymore, nothing much to look forward to. I know that could change at any moment. Maybe, and Universe forbid, this stupid holiday is making me sentimental and mushy. I figure it’s probably alright to miss people now and again, especially when they were a big part of your life for a while. I suppose that this is all part of the growth part of learning to be alone and blah blah blah and yadda yadda.  I’m just miserable and I didn’t want another miserable Valentine’s Day.

Of course, I’m not really miserable being alone. I’m not angry. I’m not bitter. What’s the problem? I don’t know. I may feel a bit lonely right now, but I have me, I have the boy, and I’ll have half price chocolate the day after. (Yay!) I may even buy myself some discounted flowers. That’s the spirit! Nothing says patheti-sad-single-near-forty like discount post-Valentine’s Day chocolate and flowers except maybe a cart full of Fancy Feast, litter, and Mama Celeste Pizza for One. Still, I’d rather do those things for myself than have someone else getting them last-minute for me from the corner Walgreens the night before. At least I have forethought involved and a thrifty spending plan.

My favorite new lyrics that I keep repeating today, and I woke up singing are no accident I think… “I thought I knew the answer was you, but now I know it’s always me.”  That’s how I know next year will be better than this year and why this year is easier than last year. It’s self-love day. I’m going to get the hang of this.

Day 19: Interlude

What are some lyrics that describe what you’re going through right now?

Funny coincidence. I was just realizing that I keep listening to my divorce song this week. It’s a painful reminder but apt. Yes, I know, I’m still going on about being “friend-zoned” but it being at the level of Severus Snape, I think I’m allowed a little bit of wallow time. Everything else seems to be clearing up. I’ve mended some issues with friends, gotten along better at work, have some new support, a new car, gifts to wrap, but sitting there in the middle of it all is the damned rejection that’s eating away at me. If I read the word “friends” one more time I swear I’m going to be driven to gouge out a major organ. Yes, nothing is supposed to have changed. As we always have been, we’re friends…(ugh!) but there’s still mourning the death of my hopes and they were mighty big ones.

I’ve been waiting forever to find someone who fit so well with me. We made big plans. I meant them. I’m starting to wonder if there were any true feelings on the other side of this. Given how easy this has all been for him, well…I do wonder if anyone is ever going to have pain for my absence, if anyone will ever miss me. Anyway, it all fell into place so well in the beginning and now I have to watch it all spin down fate’s unforgiving drain. It’s all my fault. This “condition” I have makes me really hard to live with. The fact that what’s supposed to be such a small shift has sent me so far off the scale with suffering is a clear sign of the extreme effect. It’s the huge fear of abandonment that’s the center of this disorder and it’s been tripped big time. It may not even be about him, but the fear that was engaged by the event itself. After it passes, I may be able to sensibly say to myself that it’s all fine, that nothing has truly changed and get on with my life as it has been, just sans false hopes. So, on to the song…a condensed version because there’s no need for repeats…

During every big “relationship change” I’ve had, it’s always Evanescence that captures perfectly my feelings. “Missing” is the go to song. It’s apt from beginning to end. Every time. This time. It’s on repeat right now…

“Missing”

Please, please, forgive me
But I won’t be home again
Maybe someday you’ll look up
And barely conscious, you’ll say to no one
Isn’t something missing?

You won’t cry for my absence, I know
You forgot me long ago
Am I that unimportant?
Am I so insignificant?
Isn’t something missing?
Isn’t someone missing me?

Even though I’m the sacrifice
You won’t try for me, not now
Though I’d die to know you love me
I’m all alone
Isn’t someone missing me?

And if I bleed, I’ll bleed
Knowing you don’t care
And if I sleep just to dream of you
I’ll wake without you there
Isn’t something missing?
Isn’t something

Even though I’m the sacrifice
You won’t try for me, not now
Though I’d die to know you love me
I’m all alone
Isn’t something missing?
Isn’t someone missing me?

Day 10: Randomness

What kind of impulsive decisions have you made?

Well, what a can of worms to open up. That requires some deep thought. Just today I’ve made a couple of random decisions that aren’t in my best interest. I’ve hit the anger phase of my breakup. Yesterday I spent the afternoon in my therapist’s office crying like an ass after making an emergency appointment. Today I’m returning to my evil queen splendor. I’m just angry at myself for falling for it. I mean, for crap’s sake, my ex husband warned me. He had his number all along. If that doesn’t scream “move on” I don’t know what does, but like the pure Opheliac I am, I wanted to believe so much that I ignored it all. Now I get to drown in the ankle-deep water because I was stubborn.

Like I’ve said before, I tend to get drastic. During my upswing, or my hypomania…I started drinking (yes, I’m the reason the rum is gone), I got a new tattoo (of my Evil Queen complete with poison apple), I went OFF the diet, I spent money on every dumb thing since I love giving people things, and bought myself a new computer, a necklace shaped like a human heart (I really have a theme going here), and lunches and dinners I had no business indulging in. Then I had that lovely moment of almost driving myself off a cliff after being dumped…

Even all of that recent hooplah is small beans compared with probably my biggest impulsive decision…getting married. I call it impulsive because at the time I had only known him for 6 months. I did, in the back of my mind question everything. I had sensible guidelines but of course I ignored them all, just like I recently have with DG. I think it’s entirely true that every one of my relationships save one was the result of going against my better judgment. I, as always, went Looney Tunes, as in the cartoons…(A man!). I had the very “American Splendor” point of view that I’d marry anyone who would have me. I was so convinced that no one ever would that I jumped in with both feet. I gave him opportunities to escape. He didn’t take them. I did try to be responsible but my sense gave way to my intense need and feelings.

Oddly enough, that rash decision has led, after a very long period of mourning on my end, to a solid friendship. He’s one of the very few who won’t budge or bolt. He drops everything to make me laugh, to talk me out of some of my ridiculousness, and to just tell me random things.  Some impulsive decisions end up if not being all good, end up not all bad.  I got my son out of that one after all. The hair colors pass, the tattoos don’t but I’ve had pretty good luck considering. There has been some deeply painful fallout as well but I’m still here somehow. I’m coming off that cycle and back down. We’ll see how that goes. I”m trying not to make any rash decisions based on my feelings which are highly changeable. Right now I’m angry, never a great time to think, or drive.  So I’m going to wait and try to focus on getting better by myself. My first impulse is to never let anyone close to me again, but I’ll sit with this and wait for it to pass. Everything does eventually.

Day 9: Night and Day

Question of the day…Do you have mood swings?

Somewhere one of my friends is cracking up at that question…and my mom…and my ex…etc. The big answer there is hell yes! In a matter of hours I can go from being happy to angry to depressed to excited to who knows what… People have always commented on me being moody, but now it all makes sense.

More often than not, people are used to me being melancholy or looking angry without a heck of a lot in between. I’m usually not angry but apparently look it. I’ve learned that’s known as “resting bitch face” which cracks me up. What I seem to present, however, is not the happiest of combinations. When I do smile, people freak out. It scares them, much like when Wednesday Addams smiles. It’s just weird.

We’ll take today for example. I woke up pretty happy, had cuddles with my kid which is the greatest thing ever, spent the morning fairly content, got angry at a brief message, recovered, got to work ditzy and tired, laughed, cried, got bored and annoyed, got busy and annoyed, lost myself in crafting happiness and then after a brief encounter with DG that I hoped would be lighthearted and funny like old times, sank instead into the pit of heartbroken despair…all before 2 O’Clock.

Now I’m crying again over a loss that I feel should never have happened, or maybe a gain that should never have happened. I’m not sure which. I’ve gone back and forth from happy to miserable a few times today and I think that unfortunately, misery has won the day, until I can distract and think otherwise with hope and excitement. I’ve got work to do and I’m doing it, yet in the back of my mind is that small voice with the stamina of a hurricane that keeps reminding me that I wasn’t enough to hold someone’s attention, that to the one I loved,  I wasn’t worth the time or effort. I need an arrow to kill that voice; it’s ruined more than one day recently.

I wish just once that it was a supportive voice that cheered me on, but I think the owner of the current voice killed her. Her name was Hope. I rather liked her. She’ll come back soon and the pendulum will swing the other way and I’ll be on top again, doing something else I probably shouldn’t just because… that’s what it’s like in my head and that’s why my moods are less than stable.

As it goes, the rest of the day is a crap shoot. My homework for the week is to be ambivalent. To feel two ways at the same time about something. It’s a challenge but I have it down right this second. Love and hate, hope and despair.  I’m learning it’s the nature of this Borderline thing to go to extremes one way or the other. To think after all this that I’m on the lower end of the scale when it comes to this disorder makes me wonder if this will get worse or better and what people go through on the severe side. I can be ambivalent on that score too feeling both blessed and cursed…especially cursed right this second.

I’m sure when I swing back the other way I’ll be all about the gratitude. I can’t know when that will be. It’s pointless to plan ahead not knowing where you’ll be but as one of my heroes, Scarlett O’Hara was fond of saying…tomorrow is another day.

Day 6: Insert Morrissey Song…

Question 6: How’s your love life? My first thought was to start off with a fit of mad laughter a la Jack Nicholson’s Joker. That mad laugh/cry he erupted into upon first seeing his face after being dropped in the vat of chemicals by Batman was pretty much my reaction to the question. I mean, come on! My love life? A question about that now?!

I suppose the reason it stings is because my hopes and dreams with DG have just gone up in flames faster than Atlanta in Gone with the Wind. They were nice dreams. They encompassed more than my romantic hopes but my career and travel goals as well. Now I have that pierced through the heart feeling and nothing will fill that emptiness. I guess that’s the empty feeling so talked about in borderline circles.  Just last night I became the tired cliché, eating a pint of ice cream in sweats and watching things that made me cry. I had no desire to do or even plan anything that before would have lit up my entire mood.

You know what brought that on? He signed off quickly for the millionth time, but when he abruptly left, he signed off with “All the Best” where he used to say “Love” or “Yours” or “Always”. I know it’s normal and friendly like it should be now that things have been returned to a status of “friendship”, but it gutted me, obviously. A tiny thing flips a switch and I feel it like a tidal wave. It brought to light something else. Simply by the way I am, I push people away. I have for a long time and I began to see the pattern and how it fit with the definitions of Borderline.

I spent some time talking to a trusted friend and I can say that I’m coming to realize just how hard it is with me reading every little shift of interest as the end of all hope and the impending departure of my friend/partner/whatever. It’s a little hard to take. I mean, how can I ever expect anyone to deal with me? It makes the future of a love life look bleak indeed. In that light, seeing that all of my desperate attempts to have someone care for me as much as I care for them is futile. All of my anxiety and pain seems like cheap melodrama to those around me because they can’t feel it or even imagine it…I just look like a drama queen having fits, but that’s not really the case. Feelings sweep me up and overwhelm. Everything is a reaction to them. No premeditated dramatic soliloquy possible. Just a trigger and an opposite reaction, though in this case, not equal…

Once my friend knew that this is what I was feeling and not me in some way trying to comment on his lack of friendship, and that some decisions I needed to make at the time I simply couldn’t because of those triggers, it made our friendship so much smoother. It reminded me of something I watched last night that hit me like a ton of bricks and explained the situation perfectly and succinctly. Kevin Bacon’s character in “The Following” has a habit of pushing people away out of fear and being unable to let people in, not unlike a borderline (you’re either all in or all out). His partner was giving advice to someone who cared for him. He said, “He’ll push, just don’t budge.”

Just don’t budge.

That’s what it’s going to take. I don’t know all that many people with that kind of patience or the understanding to know that it’s all unconscious on my part. The anger, the depression, all of it. I’ve been truly lucky a few times in that I’ve found two best friends, one of them oddly my ex husband, who won’t budge. If I get truly lucky, maybe there’s a guy out there who’s willing to stand his ground as well. Until then, I’ll be here eating my ice cream.

A New Challenge

So being greatly in need of venting and for a reason to write…actually I’ve had plenty of reasons to write but I’ve tried to take some care of myself for a little while with varying results…I’ve found a new 31 Day Challenge. I’m a few months late but I figure, better late than never.

It’s one that is newly close to my heart as I’ve recently found out that I’m likely to be suffering from this particular “personality style” as it was put to me. I also may not know for a few years if it’s “Borderline” or “Bi-Polar”. Yay for me! As frightening as it’s been, it’s also made sense of so much I’ve felt in the past, so I’m counting all revelations good…well,  these next ones take some effort…

It’s been a rough week of vacation. I finally had the conversation and DG and I are no more. It seemed to be his idea as much as mine and although I knew it was coming, it was still a huge loss. I lost an important relationship in him. I also experienced the sudden death of another friend and nearly lost myself as well while driving.

I nearly drove off a cliff. For real.

You’d think one near fatal car crash would be enough wouldn’t you? It’s really true, never drive angry or upset. To be clear, no, I didn’t do that on purpose. I was thinking too much, upset by recent conversations and couldn’t have picked a worse road to go down in that state. Sea cliffs and sharp drops. I may be a drama queen sometimes, but that’s not my preferred way to go. I think I’d go more for a theatrical scene more than squished on a rock, but I digress… I had some extreme anxiety and panic attacks afterward but it also made me think.

All the talk you hear about living in the moment finally hit me after all of that happened within a few days. Oddly enough it came to me over a pear. Yep, a squishy, gritty, sweet, bell shaped, near-rotten pear. I’d gotten a bag of them and meant to eat them, I really did. Time went on and I’d look at them and do something else. I was down to the last one that looked somewhat viable but it was a toss up. I stared at it.  I thought about it for a minute and thought, damn it I really want a pear. Just eat the damned thing! What are you waiting for? If you want a pear, eat a pear. What if it’s the last pear you ever eat?

Yes, it’s a random train of thought but it brought home the larger point. What am I waiting for in all areas of life? If I want it, do it!

So, one thing I want to do is write about this new road I have to travel. I figure, if you have something you’re going through, and sharing about it might help one person, it’s worth the time…plus I get to write and (hopefully) remove some of the stigma. There’s other stuff that comes up and it’ll all be good. I get to learn what it is to be human and how to choose what that looks like for me. What better journey could a person have to explore?

Hung Up

So, today. I’ve been doing my daily gratitude but I’ve kept it to myself for the most part. I spend a few minutes reflecting in some quiet if I can on how lucky I am. Today, I was lucky enough to bring my boy with me to work and to have a somewhat quiet day. A little too quiet actually.

I don’t really know what it’s going to take to open my eyes. I’ve decided to give up completely on the quest for love because, well, it’s enough already. There’s some burnout from all the trying, focusing and striving. I always had in the back of my mind though that maybe, just maybe something would finally tip the balance with DG. I’ve waited, I’ve hoped, I’ve tried. The truth is, the answer really is and always has been right there. I just don’t want to see it.

I’ve seen really clearly this week. I’ve made every dumb mistake in the book. I’ve waited by the phone. I’ve made excuses. I’ve accepted excuses but the truth is, everything really points to him just not being into me, for real. I’m broken down. I’m tired of trying to make something happen that just isn’t. Sometimes you want something so much that you can’t see what’s right in front of you. If it was real and meant to be, there would be nothing stopping the guy from doing everything in his power to be near me, either physically, by email, snail mail or phone. That’s what guys do apparently. If they want you, they show it through actions. No sweet talk or apologies needed. If he’s not chasing, he’s looking over the other wildebeest on the Serengeti.

Somehow the titles of “Miss Backup Plan” and “The One Until a Better One Comes Along” weren’t my dream achievements as a little girl.

So, I guess today, no matter how bad it feels,  I’m grateful for clarity.  I should respect myself more than to wait for someone who shows no interest in being with me…I’ve spent far too long looking for someone to love me instead knowing my value and operating from a place of asking who deserves me instead of who will have me. As I just read recently,  settling for someone who’s endgame isn’t me makes no sense. Yeah, the guy may never show up. I could be wrong but feeling bad all the time should tell me something about the truth I’m not seeing. I should be thankful to know now I suppose, to see with my brain instead of my heart so that I can machete through all the emotional BS. I need to remember that Big, despite the Hollywood happy ending, was really never all in or ever all out. There’s a word for that, “Limbo”. As the lovely meme lady says,”Aint nobody got time for that.”

Day 20 – Shock and Awe

Describe your most difficult breakup and what you learned from it.

This has been one I’ve avoided all day. It’s still painful to revisit even after all these years, probably because we remain in each others’ lives. We share a son, we are still friends, but the breakup itself was one of the most devastating times of my life. I’m referring here to the breakup of my marriage.

We were married five years when my husband decided to leave. We married way too young. He was 19, I was 23. We had such high hopes but as these things go, it was just too much too fast for him. I thought that everything was fine. He ended up telling me some ridiculous story to explain his decision which I tried so hard to believe because it was easier than seeing the truth. The weeks leading up to his leaving were the most painful of my life. It killed my heart in a way that I’ve never come back from. I helped him move out and cried every second of it. He finally walked away on the 4th of July, which is probably why to this day I can’t stand the holiday.

Shortly after he left, and he left as far as a person could leave, in the midst of my grief I began to get sick. I was crying all the time and couldn’t cope. I had my first serious panic attack symptoms during that time, but the nausea never quit. It wasn’t long before I realized that the man who just left was about to be a father and I had no way to tell him. It was the worst time of my life. I had done all of the divorce paperwork myself before I realized my condition. He wasn’t coming back. I was alone, pregnant and shortly to be jobless as well as our company was downsizing the department. My whole life fell apart in a few short months.

Since, of course, I managed to get in touch with my ex again.  He stayed in touch and checked on me, he was there when our son was born, he visits often still. We developed a friendship mainly because of my belief that the kid deserved parents that got along, not that hate each other. I had a lot to forgive, but my son was worth it. Still, things never felt truly over. Some days they still don’t. It took me years to get over this experience. I’m still smarting from some of the effects but I did learn a hell of a lot about myself.

One thing is that I’m stronger than I realized. We all are, every one of us. Yes, I have my anxiety and depression to contend with which adds some extra flavor to the struggle, but I managed to survive a devastating breakup and a solo pregnancy at the same time. I somehow picked myself up off the floor and rebuilt a life for my boy and I, one Lego at a time.

Another is that letting go is crucial. I can’t tell you how many years I spent waiting for him to come to his senses and come back, even after everything that happened. I stewed in my grief until I was so overcooked a cat wouldn’t touch me. If I had loved myself enough, I could have let go and moved on for me.

That last one is probably the most important. It just keeps coming up doesn’t it? Maybe I should listen! I’m still working on it. I didn’t like myself much. I didn’t treat myself well or with respect, so why on earth would anyone else? I was a squishy pink thing crying on the floor. With that departure my self-worth plummeted. I blamed myself, figured I wasn’t enough; that no one could ever love me. It’s easy to wallow and obsess in loneliness. I’ve learned, finally…finally how important it is to put yourself and your life goals first. I gave up so much of myself and stopped so much of what I loved in that relationship so in the end it was a good thing that it ended. It never feels like it at the time, but I had lost myself and if you lose you, you truly do lose everything.

Day 15 – Closure

Day 15 and we’re half way there. Today’s subject is truly difficult. I thought I knew what I was going to write about but a strong feeling of being punched in the gut has instructed me otherwise. I promised myself I’d be 100% authentic in this challenge and I intend to keep that promise to myself. It may not resonate with everyone, but honesty is usually the best way to go. So, narrate a conversation between you and someone in your life who you never had closure with (a friend, an ex, a family member, etc.) What would you say? What would they say? What outcome would you hope for? Instead of a two-way conversation, I just have something to get out that doesn’t really require response and would probably do better without one.

I’m not sure what outcome I’d hope for. I’m not sure what any of it is about. I don’t know what I want to be said. I just feel awful and I’m not sure exactly why. I thought I was over this. Long over it. The last time we talked about it, you told me you had still harbored feelings but no longer did. It was too late for me to do or feel anything about it. I was just stunned for a while and then got over it, I thought I had…again. Now, hearing how much you like someone else should make me happy. It gutted me instead. I didn’t expect that. I have no basis in reality for it. Perhaps I’m just selfish and don’t want to be replaced. I have noticed your absence. I did figure that your time has been spent mostly now with the new friend. Why am I not happy? Why do I feel pierced?

There’s nothing to say and there’s nothing to be done. It didn’t work before. Nothing has changed so much that it ever would now. It’s old water under a crossed bridge. So why am I crying? There’s no point opening up old wounds. This time it happened to be accidental. I’m sure it’ll close on it’s own. I don’t want it to mean that you don’t tell me things. I don’t want it to mean that you keep secrets. We’ve always been open about everything but this. I will learn to handle whatever this is.  It’s that old fear of being left alone. It’s the bigger fear of losing the best person I’ve ever known over something that should have been easy and should have flowed. I’m no more ready or stable. I’m certainly no younger or any more free-spirited. I guess I wish we could just have been more open and had it all on the table when it mattered. There’s really nothing to say now that does. No outcome that will make any difference. I just love you. I guess I always will. It will never be a “thing” and that’s okay. It obviously wasn’t meant to be and I’ll deal with it. Just don’t ever go away.
WM