Devastated

I've never really posted about my world outside of my relationship with Fonzi and our journey with DD, but this is my place to wite what is on my mind and try to work through my feelings. So here goes, raw emotions to follow.

It's no secret I have found a community, a family, a place online where I have felt safe to share my views, my life, my deepest dartpkest secrets and fears.  A place where I could just be me and people accepted it. A place where I could share advice and ideas for everything from cooking to this journey we are on.  I was happy here chatting with friends, making new friends and just being me. What I didn't realize was just how much happy I had wrapped up in that world. How intertwined reality and virtual had become. 

I am who I am, I base my advice on where I am emotionally, physically and pure heartfelt experience. I've never been blindsided like this before. I do not wear a bullet proof vest when I chat, I'm not protected. I am extremely cautious but I wear my heart on my sleeve unguarded, always have. I feel that's a part of me I wanted to share with others and I give more of me than anyone really knows. Everything I've ever done has had someone else's well being ahead of my own. However, I've been injured deep inside my core and I'm not sure I'll be the same. I never saw this threat coming. I didn't have time to prepare. Now I'm devastated and don't know I want to go back. My happy place will be will with doubt and hurt. I'm hurt. I didn't mean to cause anyone any damage. My words of advice come from my own experience. Good, bad or ugly. It was not my intention to do any perceived harm. I don't think I did. I feel still, even after all this, my opinion is mine to share. You do not have to agree, I am not perfect. Never claimed I was. 

I won't give many details, that's not why I'm writing this. My advice and intent was questioned. I feel personally attacked and right now as I type this, I do not want to go back to that place.  I want to withdrawal from everything and find my center again.   I've made great friends who are supporting me like I never thought anyone would. I know I'm loved. This is kinda like being in one of those comas where you know what's going on but you just can't make yourself wake up and be involved.   Don't count me out just yet, but currently I've pretty much lost the will to survive in my happy safe world. I need to see if I can be myself without it. 

What do I get out of DD?

Ok so this post isn't about me.  I was asked to answer that question for Fonzi.  What did I think he should be getting out of this dynamic.  I pondered this for a while.  If he didn't know what he was getting, how am I suposed to tell him what I thouht he should get.  Well frankly, I'd not put much thought into it.  I just kinda thought he got what I got.  So here is how I answered his question.

I know you don't want the cookie cutter answers but I do think those are the best place to start.  You get peace & harmony in the household.  The better communication, a deeper connection, a better more meaningful cohesive us.  We get to be friends again, companions, lovers.   Things we've been missing for a long time.

You gt a way to deal with me.  To forgive an let go.  No more hiding behind anger or frustration.  You get to help me be better, for me & for us.  You get a wife who is at peace, content with the world instead of trying to control the chaos.  You get a happier, well adjusted (most of the time anyway) me. 

You get a cleaner house.  Though not perfect, it's better than a few years ago.

You get final say, for us, for me and for our family.

I hope you get peace and contentment.  I hope you've found love and friendship again.

So that was my answer.  It's not a great answer to his question and I still hope he finds out what he gets from DD without me telling him.  I love him and I want him to feel the same benefits I do.  Our path has not unwound itself yet and I think we may have made a few circles around the same tree, but I know the decision was right to go down this road.

Feeling Special??

I want to feel special.  I want to be told I'm special.  That kind of special that brings a sparkle to his eyes at the mere mention of your name.  Or may bring a smile to his face when you walk in the room.  I want that feeling.  I want to know I still hold some kind of magic with him, with us.

When we started on the adventure, I felt special.  Little things he did or said.  He would open my car door for me or make sure my car was full of gas.  He would hold my hand as we walked through the store.  I felt like he wanted to be around me.  He talked to me about stuff, everything really.  These things have faded, I'm not feeling that special connection.

Maybe the connection lost is my fault.  I gave him the ability to control.  Control everything including me.  Control of  my accountability.  Control of my day to day.  Problems is, he doesn't control all of me.  He wants to & I want to let him but there is that little bit he hasn't mastered yet.  With that comes an opening.  An opening I take full advantage of. 

I guess to feel special, I need to let him know I am special by doing the things he's asked.  I need to control that one little part of me that he hasn't quite mastered yet.   Maybe he doesn't open car doors anymore because I've somehow let him know it isn't necessary.  Maybe it's too late for that one.
I'm not complaining, I'm venting in that "woe is me" kind of mood.  I asked for this, I want/need this and I'm the one fighting the process. 

Ok, so I haven't quite mastered this submission or rule thing but I never claimed to be perfect.  I only need to be perfect enough for me but especially him.  The struggle continues and after 10 months, I do not have all the answers yet.  I guess we will continue on our journey until we reach a finish line.

UPDATE

This was probably the first blog that he actually said something about.  He said to me:  You are special but I want to be special too.  I thought at first it wasn't about the blog but he made sure later I knew later it was all about the blog.  This blog upset him.  Basically, because he felt I was asking for things I was unwilling to give in return.  I did admit that it was mostly my fault.  I havn't been subissive or following the rules as I should.  I know I need to hold up my end of the bargin.  I wanted to apologize to him for not making him feel special.  This journey is for both of us and we both must do what we can to make the other realize how much they mean to us.  I've been somewhat better, not perfect but better.  The path has had a few rock in the way but we are still moving forward.

Letting go (or not!)

After 8 months, I thought I would be more submissive than I am, thought I would be perfect but I am far from perfect. I am far from most of the things I envisioned in the beginning. We have gone through another rough patch. This time a medical issue interfered with discipline. I made it impossible and he shut down or at least I thought he did. 

I'm not sure this was all my fault this time. I know I broke every rule, pushed every boundary and expected a reaction of some kind. He knew what I was doing and refused to react. 

What I know now is that I still have trouble letting him lead, letting him guide us through the rough patches. I can't let go. I still try to control everything by being a brat. By pushing and reacting. 

To his credit, he refuses to give in to my childish behavior. He leads by being calm and assertive in the face of adversity. He reigns me in when it's possible. He does have control, quietly watching and making notes. He never let me get away with anything, he just refrained from discipline until the issue was all cleared. 

We are back on track.  The path has been cleared of obstacles and we are steady making progress again.  The journey is difficult but worth every moment. I have another meeting in a few hours and even though I'm not looking forward to it, I'm not complaining or dreading it.  I'm looking forward to being on the right path with the man of my dreams. 

I'm learning.  I'm not perfect and it's ok!  I'm happy and loved!!

Electric fences

The electric fence or invisible fence is a great deterrent when it's working. The trouble is they often fail in extreme storms and never work during power failure.  

I've decided the rules are like that electric fence. When they are enforced, like the fence, they deliver a strong negative force you'd think twice to go near again. When they aren't enforced, it's as if the fence is lacking power. You know it's there, but when tested, nothing negative occurs. No jolt to bring you back to the proper side of things. 

We've been in our own little storm today. Forces outside our own creating a tornado of angry and hurt feelings.  Not at each other but at this particular force. I guess we all have them. Problem is, the fences are down. I've tested them. (I see you rolling your eyes at me but it had to be done). I'm stressed, unhappy by these events and feeling unloved and unwanted. (The un's). I hate these feeling more than the thought of trouble I'm causing myself. The storm has knocked out power to my fence. All attempts to cross boundaries have been successful so far today. 

I know this storm will pass. We get to spend all day tomorrow storm free but I'm not sure the fence will be mended in time. How long will it take to mend the fence this time?  I'm not feeling as strong as I was once and I need him to be solid in the storms.  

Ugh - I dislike feeling this vunerable and needy sometimes. I just want to be held and sheltered. I want him to be my umbrella not shivering in the cold wet rain with me. 

This journey will continue, the path goes on. This time I'm bringing waders!!  I'm learning to endure through the mud and muck. 

I think he had a virus

We spent a couple weeks in funk land.  We've now settled safely on the other side or somewhere close at least.  I'm not sure we are fully safe on dry land but I'm sure our feet can at least touch solid ground.   So I guess it's time to write about those feelings.  I may ramble, oh please, when don't I?  Be patient, I'm sure there's a moral to the story in here somewhere.

So in case you're just dropping into this blog and missed a few entries (what really? Go back and read them - we'll wait), I will tell you that life got in the way a few weeks ago and we've struggled to get back.  Some disturbing news at the doctor led me to pointing accusing fingers and fighting the one person who was trying to help.  He didn't know how to cope with all those emotions and I think he was being drained by my emotional overload.  We also moved and got one of the little people ready to head off to the big bad world.  Needless to say, I was a basket case.

What I needed was a firm hand.  A solid rock to plant my feet on safely above the water line.  I was left drowning instead.  I fought hard but emotionally I couldn't bring myself to safety.  I needed him, I wanted him to be there.  When he wasn't, I shut him out completely.  

I think this is where he caught this virus.  His walls couldn't withstand the pressure I was putting on him and so with his defenses down, he shut down all means of communication between us.  DD stopped.  He stopped trying to help us.  He wasn't leading.  I sure as heck wasn't following.  I broke rules because I was mad, because I was lost, mostly because I was scared.  This virus, a lot like the flu but for the HoH, left him unable to fulfill his role as a husband, a leader, a friend.  He was drained.  He blamed me.  He said I wasn't doing what I needed to do, so why should he.  I must not have wanted this anymore.  That's how I was acting.  He quit leading & started blaming.

Ok, so we both can't be blaming each other.  One of us had to lead us out of the turmoil.  It was horrible.  I never saw any of this as my fault.  I blamed him for everything.  I blamed him for the bad news at the doctor, for our baby growing up and leaving, for making us move, for not doing more.  I was asking more more more and giving nothing in return.  

It hit me - OMG this might be my fault.  I might be the reason he doesn't love me anymore.  Shock & awe, I wanted badly to snap out of it.  I couldn't.  It's not a light switch you can flip and everything gets better.  Depression doesn't work that way (oh I wish it did).  I had to try to explain.  Tears filled my apology and I'm not really exactly sure I even said "I'm sorry".  I told him how I needed him to catch me when I was falling and that he wasn't there.  He let me fall into this pit of despair by thinking that I needed the time and space for myself.  I needed him to help lead me out of the darkness but he let me wander.  I'm not sure if he realized it or not, but it was his fault too.  

We did have a good talk. (It was just a talk that night)  I asked him to be the leader even when he thought I needed space to myself.  That in those times, I needed and wanted him to help snap me out of that place.  I didn't like being in that place any more than he liked me being there.  He's agreed to help me more in those situations.  (hmmmm brat beware!!!) 

It took some time for him to find his mojo after all this.  I guess when you get a bad flu it just takes time to recover.  It's been a slow process but I think he's almost completely healed.  He's reiterated the rules and expectations and has told me in no uncertain terms that he will deal with things as they come up.  No more waiting.  Tested that theory once already & didn't like the outcome.  He's still working on consistency again.  It's not where it once was but I'm sure as fast as he learned once, his recovery from this virus will be just as speedy.

We are still learning.  We haven't given up our journey and there are no roads leading back from where we came.  We will be stronger as we will be together.  Be patient with me, I'm not there yet!!

The funk continues

Maybe it's not a funk so much as an overwhelming craziness caused by life. We are moving. Not the simple pack it all up, load in on a truck kind of move but a bit by bit here and there kind of move. Everything is upside down, nothing is in a place yet and it's driving me crazy.  Not that I'm an everything in it's own place kind of person but I'm a know where it is or was person. Right now my world is in chaos. 

I would love for someone to just tell me exactly what to do, when to do it or have it done by. Instead of the general stuff that needs to be done anytime someone is moving. 

Add to that chaos, the waiting game from test results from the doctor. I'm a total ball of nerves and emotions. He is letting me get away with way to much snappy nasty attitude. I know why & I appreciate the sentiment but I also want the absolute to stay absolute. I'm rambling and probably not making sense. 

A few more days of utter chaos and maybe things can start to return to normal.   

I'm also worried about the privacy type issues in the new house for DD. I'm sure it'll all work out in the end. (Pun intended. LOL). 

Sorry if this doesn't make sense but I needed to get it out. Still learning and growing!!