I can't keep waiting

 for the other shoe to drop.  

So far, it hasn't.

Aside from the one disagreement Tom and i had, over something i told him that he did NOT like......which in reality, he shouldn't if he cares for me.........we haven't had any issues.  Yes, i'm purposely being obtuse.  There is something in my past that came about in conversation while we were taking gummies....and he had a difficult time with it.  I became immediately defensive, which didn't help.  But we talked it out the following day and he has a better understanding.  Sometimes the movies are just the movies, and not real life.  Thats all i'm gonna say about that.

We spent the day at the Berlin Fair together with his boys checking in with him periodically - I got to spend some time with them and him.  He calls me, texts me, talks to me about real things, listens to my long ass stories (I have shortened them because he is so patient) and he remembers things i've told him.  We are getting to know each other, again.  

Yesterday afternoon he came over with his youngest, 13, and we watched football and i tried to do paper mache.  I brought out my clay and they were playing around with it while we talked.  Then they went home.  His son wasn't ready to go.  I think thats a good sign.

Tommy told me we had to talk about a few things the next time we are alone......and i have a good idea what it's about.

First i want to say this.  Out of all the men i've dated he has every attribute that i have been attracted to in other men.  Besides the above, he brought me flowers, red roses.  He made me a trinket box and he is always bringing over little gifts for me.  He doesn't trauma dump.  He doesn't make excuses for his behavior because he hasn't acted in a way that needs it.  What a nice change.

He loves Koda.  

With all that said, I find myself in the same situation i was literally just in with Mr. Cigar.

There is a woman at home.  

The mother of his children.

He told me about her the first time we talked.  That his life is "complicated".  Oh, how i hate that word.  

He said she lives downstairs, has her own room and he and the boys live upstairs.  They coexist but have no relationship outside of the boys.

That sounds pretty typical for two people who have been together for 17 years.

They aren't married. They are together because they got pregnant unexpectedly,  So he bought a house, and set up a life with her to raise their son. They had a second son.  He wanted a family.  He didn't know she had a serious drug problem - and it all blew up in his face when the police raided their home and she was arrested while he was at work.  

Tom has been married before, once, and had an amicable divorce with his ex wife.  They carried on for another 4 years after they divorced.  He just couldn't live with her, they were young, and he wanted to settle in and she wanted to go out and party.  He doesn't want to get remarried.  He did it already.  He has the same attitude about it that i do....."why get married?".

When everything blew up with this current woman, he told her he was only there for the boys, that they were done.  It's his house.  She doesn't work.  She is also very depressed and sick since she got off the drugs 7 years ago.  She does nothing.  He said her health is really bad, that she smokes on an oxygen machine and has no relationship with him or the boys.  

It sounds horrible.

The boys really don't have a relationship with her.  Tom raised them.

He says he needed help with them.  He needed someone home with them while he went to work.  His mom had passed, his brothers both had their own problems going on and his sister had a very ill husband.  He had no one he could trust to help him raise the boys.  So he tolerated her being there.

Yes, i understand that this is one sided.  And that she may have a very different story.  And i remain nuetral because i don't know her, and I really don't want to get involved in another fucked up situation where there is a man going back and forth lying to two women.

However, the boys are very aware of me and seem to like me.  They have made comments about their mother always sleeping and that it's always been them and their dad.

I still reserve judgement.  

Tom wants us together, and .............so do I.  But i don't want to rush into another situation that isn't what it seems.

He said it's time for her to move out of the house.  She had nowhere to go previously, and he wasn't going to just kick her out with her health being the mother of his sons.  But her brother has done very well for himself, and has apartments she can rent.  He says it's time. 

He assures me it has nothing to do with me other than he wants a different life.  He hasn't been living aside from working and raising the boys.  He wants a relationship.  And then i sent him a message and we talked and met up....he said he's not letting me get away a second time.

I'm in no rush.  I do have feelings for him.  But i need time for the excitement to wear off and see what is really there between us.  The chemistry is off the charts, we naturally treat each other very well, even the fact that he has sons that are young doesn't bother me because HE is raising them.  

so thats where im at right now.  I think about Bill and all the bullshit i went through and i want to go back and tell myself that i shouldn't have to fix a man or a situation.  I shouldn't have to be the one he dumps all his trauma on, as if i don't have my own vested interest in the outcome.

I just don't want a repeat.  Tom is worth it to me to be patient, but i don't want to be caught up in the dissolution of there living arrangment.  I told him i wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't take it as well as he seems to think she will.

Time needs to pass and I need to watch.

This is what it's supposed to feel like

 I can't wait for tonight.  Tommy is coming over and i have the day off from work tomorrow.  We can spend some quality time together. 

We can't seem to shut up around each other.  Talk, Talk, Kiss, Talk........laugh our asses off.  I can't help but think that i wish we reconnected again so much sooner.

But we weren't ready.

I hope we are now.  Time will tell. 

Seems very fast,  but we had our first "conflict" that i mentioned previously.  We had taken gummies and I can get ridiculous thinking everything is hysterical when i'm under that influence.  He asked me a question about one of my tattoos and some of my knick knacks around my apartment and i gave him a very direct answer.........while laughing my ass off.  So the timing wasn't ideal.  Nor was my delivery or his reception. He became very quiet, and all of a sudden had to go home for "his boys".  How am i to argue with that?  Can't keep a man from his kids.  So he exits quickly and i am still stoned, so i'm still happy.

Until the next morning when i wake up and remember the conversation.  Oh. Shit.  Not how i wanted to tell him.  I would have eventually had that conversation had it ever come up naturally.  I do feel he, as someone i want a relationship with, has a right to know.  I don't like secrets or omissions that can come back and ruin your future.  I won't lie about anything because I don't have regrets.  Everything i've ever done or lived through has given me experience and growth.  Doesn't mean i'd do it again. 

So next morning i don't hear from him.  Finally around 10am i text him and say "second thoughts?" and he basically says yes and why.  I kind of knew based on him leaving like his ass was on fire....and not hearing from him multiple times at the crack of dawn, so i wasn't surprised.  BUT i was hurt.  And then i got angry.  And then i let him have a peace of my mind.  

We weren't unkind to each other, but we weren't agreeing.  And looking back, it was probably the first adult disagreement with a man i've ever had that was reasonable and respectful.  We both walked away from it feeling like it was resolved and neither of us had to be the "wrong" one, or the "bad" one.  No one felt like a jerk.  And we carried on as we have before after coming to the conclusion that we both had feelings about the information i shared and that the past is the past, and i have no feelings or regret, however that is over now.  

He was very clear about how he felt about me, moving forward.  And i agree.

So it worked out. 

disbelief and comfort

 Do you ever have so much and so little going on in your life that you kind of blip out.  Like lose a few days?  

Since the drama with Mr. Cigar, i've been going at maximum speed or a dead stop with no in the middle.  I drew up the letter to mail to the court so the judge knows this is not a first time event however it was escalating rapidly.  Also that i want that protective order in full effect for as long as possible to keep him from contacting me.

They are supposed to notify you when the protective order expires, and my plan is to constantly renew it for as long as i can.  That man will never go away, and not in a good way.  My back walking away from him is the last he will ever get from me.

My ex and i have been texting on and off since the drama.  Nothing crazy.  Comfortable, not romantic.  I can't look at him like that anymore, i don't feel that way.  But it's nice to know he's there when i need him, and he knows he can call me if he needs me.  Thats the history between us.  I even told Tom about him and said they might meet eventually if we work out.

So much.

We went to the Berlin Fair with his sons on Saturday afternoon.  When he came in the house to pick me up he brought me a candle from the boys. I thanked them when i got into the car where they were waiting.  Very nice young men, 17 and 13.  They kind of just enfolded me into their world -chatting, joking, telling me about their lives and friends.....and at the Fair they checked in periodically to show us their stash.  I even told the oldest a "tell" about how to know when a girl wants to talk to him. I enjoyed them.

Tom got me the thumb ring i wanted and we had "Tom & MB 1986" stamped into it.  We were giggling- okay, I was giggling and we were chatting with the vendor about how we had met in high school and watched each other all year but had only started talking recently for our 40th year class reunion.  We felt like kids....all day actually.  We walked, and ate food and sat and watched people and talked and talked and talked.  He asked me if i noticed people looking at us and after he pointed it out, i did notice.

I think its because how often do you see two old white hairs, walking around obviously happy, holding hands and talking their asses off to EACH OTHER.  

I was so relaxed.  At a FAIR.  with a lot of people around and usually i'm stressed pretty fast in that environment.  But i let him.  I just held his hand and he led me around, feeding me anything i said looked good, and making sure i wasn't tired or hungry.  He took care of me.  He wanted me to have a nice time.  And when the boys would check up on us, he would light up.  

I like that he is close to his sons and that on Friday nights they get snacks and hang out together watching a movie, or television.  He said it's always been like that.  The three of them.

And i was jealous honestly.  I wish i had made Friday nights or any night of the week a special night for me and my teens.  I wish i had had the presense of mind to remember that they would not always be there with me, that they would grow up and away.  Very Fast.  

AND we had our first argument.  And it was a good one, with the statements that started it, the upset apparent on both ends, each expressing their feelings about said statements and the information gleened from them.......I gave him holy hell, he accepted my wrath with a warning of "don't be a hothead"......because i did call him an asshole, but we got it all out without any hitting or threats, imagine that.  And now, it's even better than before the argument.

I didn't have to sell my soul to keep him, and he was able to express his thoughts and concerns without me running away.........It was a nice change for me.

Thats the short version of a packed weekend.  Life is looking good. 

don't go by pictures

 Toms facebook picture is awful.  Truly awful.  And when i found him on facebook i couldn't care less what his picture looked like.

It was Tom.  For my senior year all i did was look for him in the Berlin High School hallway and smoking area.  He was a bad boy with a lot of friends.  He wore a leather jacket, jeans, had long hair and a long goatee....yes, in high school.

I was smitten.

But i also was living with my boyfriend and his family and that was why i was spending my senior year in a highschool where i knew no-one.  

If i had been a normal teen, with a normal life.........i wouldn't have met him.  But i also would have been able to date him if i DID.  What a fucked up situation i was in.

An 18 year old should never have to decide the future of her life based on keeping a roof over her head and pressure from all around her to stay with her boyfriend.

It should have never happened.  I should have been guided.  I wasn't.  Not one person helped me grow up to be MYSELF.....it was always to the benefit of someone else that i was alive.  My life was never mine.

And maybe thats why i have attached to men.  To the dream of wanting to pick my life and thinking it had to be WITH someone.  

The only thing i don't regret about marrying my hs boyfriend is having my children.  They are my reason for not regretting my entire life and many times, they have saved me, without knowing it.

I understand that i have always been man focused, and that I did not give them the time and attention they needed, and deserved.  I have no valid excuse.  If i could do my life over i would do that part different.  I would figure out earlier that men complicated my life, they didn't make it easier, they didn't help me or protect me..........they were an escape from lonliness and feeling unloved and alone.

I have always just wanted to be the one, to be enough, for ONE person to share my life with. Someone who cared about me as much as i cared about them  An adult to share life with 

And i chose badly each time.  My ex D was a free spirit not to be tied down and that is exactly what i tried to do.   We were doomed from the start and his mother told me that on several occassions. She said "you know it's not forever" and "It's never going to be permanent" and "you are not going to end up together"........throughout our 13 year relationship

And then they wondered why i got so upset around the holidays, because i had no permanent family that looked at me like i needed them too..........always aside from my children who were and are my entire family.  

I made bad choices, and some good things came from each one.  But i would love to finally do it right.

Maybe Tom, who is still handsome and very physically fit, is my future.  Or maybe not.  We won't know until we find ourselves looking back over the years and saying "wow, we made it"....

He makes no bones about not wanting to waste another 40 years not being together.  He says the most romantic and loving thing to me and it doesn't feel like love bombing.  It feels like we are both relieved to have finally come full circle.  And i feel at peace, and very much excited at the same time.

Who knows what the future holds.  One day at a time.  But it's nice to look forward to him.  

clear it out

 I still have the childrens book that my ex D gave me for christmas one year.  And i have the necklace, and a lot of the cards and pictures from him.  I probably won't ever get rid of them.  

But, this weekend i cleared out the gifts and items that were given to me by Bill.  I loved the leather work bag he gave me and always used it, even when we kept breaking up.....but i cleaned it out and brought it to Jens and gave it to her.  I told her if she doesnt want it she can donate it.  It's a very nice bag.

And he got the exact same one for his ex. (he's so stupid that he insisted he got her a more expensive bag when he tried to re-gift it to me because she had left it behind)  And the wine glass he gave me was something he gave all his female friends. Even his gifts were unoriginal and given to everyone.  Loser.

I had worn one of his good flannels home one night.  It smelled like him and i didn't give it back.  So i brought that to Jens house as well to give to her niece's husband because it's too small for Doug.  

Everything went.  Nothing of him remains aside from a few pictures in my phone which i think i will delete. Not one picture was taken of us together in over a year.  

There is nothing left. Aside from finishing that letter to the court.  That is my final word and then i will be completely done until i'm notified the protective order is expiring.  Then i will renew it for as long as i can.  I will not have him contacting me or thinking i want him to, ever again.

And i feel peace now.  No waiting for the contact i've done everything to avoid but i know is coming.  He always found a way back in.  And i always let him.  And then we'd have a few good times and it would turn bad again.  Faster each time.

Because i let him. 

And those days are over.

I don't want to gush about Tom but there is plenty of reason to.  I just don't want to write about him in the same entry as Bill because he deserves so much better than that.

No call from Cathy, or either of my kids yesterday.  Every day i think of moving to South Dakota and starting my van life.......what is keeping me here.

In trouble

 I finally worked myself up to talk to Cathy last night.  I called her and launched into what had been going on, how i had continued to see Bill on and off and lied to her because she had made her opinion of him clear and i didn't want to hear it from her.  That it was my choice to see it out to its end and that i didn't need her yelling at me or judging the situation because i knew i wasn't going to listen to her.  I wasn't even listening to my SELF.

She got mad when i said judgement and i reinforced what i said..  I told her this is my life and her very expressed opinions on it were a judgement.  I was honest about why i didn't tell her and i stood behind what i said.  When she tried to do exactly what i knew she was going to do i told her this is my life and i wasn't looking for approval.  I did what i did because i wanted to. The end.

Then i told her about the happy part, reconnecting with Tom.  She wasn't interested.  She had already moved into the guilt portion of the call where she said "do you want to know why i kept calling you?" and then she hit me with her future son in laws recent health issues and her argument with her son at her granddaughters birthday party.

I listened and offered no advice aside from trying to remain positive and not think the worst. 

i'm afraid we are outgrowing our friendship or going threw a major transition...........she is always negative and upset about things she cannot control.  She is hell bent on her son apologizing to her husband about something that took place last year and she is allowing it to interfer with her relationship and therefor not seeing her grandchildren.\

We don't agree.

I am upset i don't see or hear from my kids but i realize they have adult lives.  When i can be with them i'm not going to fight about petty stuff just to be right. I don't want them to cringe when they know they will see me.  

She has the world and she still manages to find things to be unhappy about.  And she forgets who she is talking to.........and she is complaining to me about things i will never have.  THINGS.

Sometime i just dont like her.

I believe friends should tell you the truth but you shouldn't be afraid if getting into trouble with them.  

life is wierd

 going through all the chaos and drama and feeling like i'm completely out of control emotionally and physically and then one day it all comes to a head and there is no going back.......then there is quiet.  A whole big space of nothing where longing and regret used to slip in......but now, nothing. Just a very clear vision of the crazy ride i was on, that i actively chose to be on......hoping it would end in a fairy tale moment.

but i'm not a princess and he was certainly no knight.  He was never going to pull my onto his white horse and ride into the sunset with me.  He was going to end up killing me eventually - and now i know how sneaky abuse is, how it dresses up as one thing to pull you in and even if you are smart, and experienced and run your own life you can be fooled.  Anyone can be.

I kept going back and he kept stalking me when i left.  It was a vicisious cycle of hope and disapointment.  No matter how well i was getting to know myself, i couldn't possibly know him.  

And now i have a full protective order against him and he's been arrested twice, and i told the police about the guns he didn't turn in.  Because he's not safe.  And he'll be the first person to tell you that.  I finally believe him.

My ex was a big help, letting me have a meltdown and then encouraging me to do what i thought was best.  He didn't tell me what to do aside from stop hanging out with assholes.  Solid advice.  But he was who i thought of when i needed help and he gave it to me by simply being supportive.  I won't forget that.

Sarah and i went out friday night to see a cover band of Fleetwood mac, the Eagles and Tom Petty.  It was a good night.  I invited Cindy to come and she actually did do something spontaneous and join us.  Eddie was there with his new girl and they invited us to sit with them  The bar was packed.  I felt very lucky to have this life and these friends and the ability to go out and be happy.

The day after the assault and arrest i went on facebook and scrolled my highschool reunion page.  I found Tom, a boy I had wanted to date, but couldn't because of my fucked up situation of living with my boyfriends family when my mother threw me out of the house at 16.  That was a mouthful. If i hadn't been in that situation i would have wanted to date Tom.  I reached out to him.  We chatted and then we met Saturday night for drinks and apps which turned into hours talking and then he kissed me at my car...........for a long time.......

I invited him to watch a movie with me yesterday and we talked for hours again......and this weekend i'm going to the berln fair with him, the town we went to school together in and graduated from.  And both his boys.  Next weekend i'm going to the class reunion with him as his date.  I didn't know anyone well enough to want to go on my own.  I was only there senior year.

And now we are trying to make up for the past 40 years of not being together. It feels so surreal that the timing is finally right.  Neither of us is with someone for the first time at the same time.  We can't stop talking about all the things we want to do, and what we were doing without each other...and how much and how little we have changed.

No games. No gaslighting.  Just......that feeling of finally.  The more we talk we laugh about each others memories of each other.  He remembers details that floor me.  

Maybe this is our chance.  We are going to see.  And with all the recent happenings i'm startled to find myself feeling peaceful, and happy and looking forward to what happens next.

eh, fuck him

 just now i remembered that Mr. Cigar had gone to the dentist for a procedure on Tuesday.  And he wanted me to pick up pizza......didn't listen to me, always knows best.  He said he'd chew on the other side of his mouth like i was an idiot.  Refused to take tylenol or listen to any kind of preventative pain care.....he knows best.

And he was worried his mouth would hurt in the morning.......

I hope it did.  I hope it started hurting when they were booking him at jail.  I hope it was throbbing when he had his office manager bail him out for the second time in as many months.  I hope he was PISSED and self righteous in front of her.......so she knows he's the same in his private life if not worse.

I hope she thinks "this job sucks" because her boss is a flaming asshole and thinks he OWNS his employees.

I hope he really DID dial my number by accident (bullshit) and that he nearly shit his pants wondering if i was going to report it.  I did.

I hope when he was waiting his turn in court he had his shitty attitude and got slammed.  OR that he acted like a little lamb because he knows now that he has a much better chance of doing time for putting his hands on WOMEN.

I hope his dick deflates and no amount of testosterone stiffens it......i hope he remembers me every time he "almost" does it.

I hope he feels all the the things he's made me feel over the past year.  I hope he worries and i hope the court system sees him for the cocky mother fucker he is.

I hope he sees THIS and understands that IF i think of him now its with pity and disdain.  I thought he was a man.  He's a damaged petulant ANGRY little boy inside of an aging body.  And he deserves every second of the misery he brought on himself by treating women who cared for him like garbage.

No Bill........Fuck YOU.  

Brief brief which will be long long

 i did it again.

I hope I've learned my lesson and can move forward with some insight and experience, and that the memories will fade but not completely disappear.

I've never called the police for myself, and found out that i'm pretty good at it.  I'll be sure to do it again in the future if need be.  At 58 years of age i have a protective order against Mr. Cigar.   It' a full no contact protective order so he cannot contact me in any way shape or form.

Let me begin by saying this past weekend was damn near perfect.  I began seeing my life with him in the future....keeping house, enjoying the dogs, being outside in the woods on walks, and actual sex because he's finally got it working. Woo. After more than a year we had actual intercourse.  Too much information?  Hell no, it shows that i have actual feelings for this man.  I've been around through all the ups and downs, and it wasn't about being dickmatized. That is important.  

He was relaxed, attentive (for him) and we actually felt like a couple.  I did, however, remind myself that we have had really good times together before with immediate chaos following.  Like he can't stand to be happy with me and must sabotage it. He must always keep me insecure.  He would say i'm in my head, and i will respond with yes, memories.  

Tuesday night i met him at his house for pizza, which i brought, because he was supplying the adult beverages.  I got there before him, and Koda and i took a potty walk.  He was a very happy boy.  Mr. Cigar arrived, we ate pizza off the back of the truck because we were starving.  As we were eating he began roughing up Koda, a lot more than i would.  I was uncomfortable, asked him if that was necessary, and he said i was making my dog gay.  (So here's where i should have ended the night)  

Koda began drooling heavily which he never does, and had only done at Bills house due to the excitement and nerves of being there.  Bill continued to harrass him, making him growl.  Again i told him to stop.  Again he ignored me.  I felt the storm clouds move in.

We ended up taking the dogs outside, and sitting in the chairs side by side underneath the biggest tree that views most of his beautiful 5 acre property.  It was exactly what i want.  Peace.  Until he decided to start bonking Koda on the head with the chuck it dog toy he was using to throw the ball. 

It's a long handled flexible plastic whip.....the top that holds the ball is hard.  Thats what he was hitting on Koda's head.  When i told him to stop he only laughed wildly and continued to to it more.  I put my hand over Kodas head and and he hit me too.......i can say it hurt like a bitch and it wasn't my head.  

I was angry.  I held koda and stood up from the chair and then he whipped the back of my legs.  To say i saw stars....i was shocked, i was angry, in pain, shaking....trying not to cry and trying to understand how a man could sit there looking like a mean little bully boy.....enjoying my upset and wanting more.

He is not right in the head.

I said i didn't understand how anyone had stayed with him for as long as they had, that he enjoyed scaring and torturing women, and that this was why he was alone.  He scares people.  He said his ex Melissa scared him.  I said she must have been a brute if she could handle him.  

His face turned black, and if i thought he looked mean before that i was wrong compared to this.  I began to walk away towards the back of the house with koda in my arms.  He told me to shut the fuck up, not to talk about his fucking exes and to get the fuck out.....I came as close to running as i can.

I realized my keys were in the house, so i went in the back door and both corsos came running out....agitated because i was holding koda and because they probably heard us yelling outside.  Able ran out the door and into the yard and knowing he needs a leash i yelled for him to COME, HOUSE...and shocker, he listened.  I saw Bill come around the corner of the house with rage on his face......i was scared.  This was unsafe and i was going to get hurt.  I knew it.

I closed the door behind me, ran into the kitchen as he was coming into the house........grabbed my keys and ran out the side door.  I realized i didn't have kodas leash and thought fuck that, i'm not going back. I hurried to my car, shaking, trying not to have a meltdown before i could get the fuck out of there.  While i was attaching koda to the seat (he doesn't do well in the car) Mr. Cigar came out of the garage yelling and angry, he threw the leash at my car.  I reached out and grabbed it then took off down the driveway before he decided to approach me.  

It's sounds like nothing while i'm writing this.  And it felt like i was running for my life.  Once i got into town i pulled over and tried to process what had just happened. I was shocked that the situation had escalated so quickly because i had told him NO. to stop.  

I had welts on the back of my thighs.  Then i got mad.  I texted him that he ruined himself, referring to what his ex said when she had him arrested in JULY - that she was going to ruin him.There was no physical marks on her to prove he had pushed her, and that saved him.

This is when clarity literally ripped across my brain.  This fucker thinks he has a right to put his hands on people, to hurt people.  He thinks he can get away with everything because he believes he is smarter than everyone else.  He has no empathy, only sees how he "should" act to impress people.......but has no soul.

So i called the police, who told me to come in and i did.  They even took koda outside to potty for me because i was there for a while.  They arrested him.  Told me that he was told not to contact me and that he had court the following morning.  I went home and blocked him and his business from my cell phone, and all social media.  I was in shock. Still, at the speed of which things had gone south.

I started to second guess myself.  Did i over react?

No.

He has escalated with me, and it would only continue to get worse.  The police officer told me.  So it's true.

I've seen the movies, saw the news, read the books........and never thought it would be me.  Thats because they aren't stupid enough to walk up and smack you......they warm you up to the abuse.  It starts slow and small, and then it escalates......and you feel crazy.  And they tell you you are crazy.  It's fucked up.  I wish i didn't understand.

Yesterday morning i was on a teams call for work and i saw that i had a missed call from him.  How??? i had blocked him, he wasn't supposed to contact me.........but there it was.  So i called the police, and had to go back down to the station and file another report.

Between his previous arrest, and now these two arrests........he has fucked his own life up.  All he had to do was be a decent man and keep his hands to himself.

And thats the short story.

who the fuck is Jim?

 Interesting conversation this weekend regarding contacts in our phone.

Do you keep all your contacts or do you delete them when you no longer associate with that person?

I have never cleaned out my contacts, meaning, everyone i've had as a contact since getting my cell phone back in.....the way back......not once.

Some may think thats "leaving a door open"......others, like me, thinks it's plain laziness.  

So as i was sitting by the pool with my girl Sarah this weekend, i asked her how she manages her contacts and she had the same respone i did.  We hadn't thought about "managing" it.  Contacts go in, and stay in for no real reason.

Then she mentioned that being single and on and off the dating sites, sometimes a man you had talked to previously, (and not remembered) will pop up again......if he's already in your phone contacts then you know.  

I liken this to keeping a book read list.......so i don't read half the book thinking "gee this is familiar" only to find out i have already read it. 

So we experimented.  She picked a name "Jim" and i looked up Jim in my contacts.  Six.  I know who all of them are except one, simply labeled "jim"......no nickname, no contact info aside from phone number.  

Who the fuck is Jim?

Couldn't tell you.  

How many contacts do i have that i couldn't tell you who they are?  Probably a LOT.  

When i began talking to Mr. Tattoo a couple of years ago, I realized i already had him  in my contacts when he gave me his phone number.  We had talked a few years before and i had blown him off.  It was a joke between us in the begining. So i had our texting history and i could see he wasn't an asshole, i was.  I was not ready for this man at that time, and i moved on.  Not taking him out of my contacts, but forgetting who he is......until we met again.

My reasoning to keep everyone is..........why not?  But now i'm asking myself, why?  If i'm simplifying my whole life, why wouldn't i simplify my contact list also?

Now i'm thinking i'd like to make this a project, a paper, just for the fun of it. And if my friends find it entertaining maybe send it to a magazine and see if i can publish.

This blog is very much a dumping ground for thoughts, not structured or even grammatically correct in many ways......however, what if i took all these blogs and did something.  What if i could write and publish?

Other people do it with less.

Let's see how this project moves forward.

Not for me to say

Lots going on in my head regarding a situation that is not my business to talk about.  Let's say this morning will determine next steps.

Some moments i'm finally comfortable with the fact that we are together and then, as is the norm with us, something will happen that makes me feel so totally out of control that i begin to question what the hell i'm doing.

I need to be able to control myself, my own life and maybe that's why i've been single for so long with nothing every turning into an actual relationship that lasts.  I only felt that want with Mr. Tattoo, where i could picture relaxing my guard, and trusting a man to do as he says, and be who he represents himself to be.  Not perfect, but honest.  Real.

Good bad and dark side.

I knew with other men immediately when it wasn't going to work no matter how much i tried to close my eyes to what i was seeing or hearing, or feeling.  I'm not good at pretending.  I was cutthroat, never dragging the process of letting them go on.  Short sweet, done.  No further contact.  

And maybe thats why this situation with Mr. Cigar has been so highly charged and emotionally taxing...i haven't had control of myself for as long as i've known him, with or without him.  He is engraved into my brain, and i hear his voice when i haven't spoken to him in weeks.  And i keep going back.

I'm where i want to be with him at this moment.  I will not be pushed faster than i can move.....and that is the only thing i am positive about.  Too much is at stake and my level of trust needs to be refueled and solidified before i make any big moves.

And he has business to finish with his ex.  She still lives in his headspace.  I'm glad he talks to me about what is happening, and how he is feeling, but at the same time i wonder why everything has to be so fuckin hard.

Also, will he ever look at me and not think about when we met and all this shit that isn't "ours" IS part of our lives together?  More so, will I?

One day at a time and sometimes one moment at a time.  My trust in his words and how his actions match, or don't.......that is where my interest currently resides. 

Such a nice night together last night, and then the rollercoaster ride of what he still has to contend with for knowing her.

lets be clear

 Last night i went to Mr. Cigars after I had dinner and spent some quality time with Koda.  I felt bad leaving him home alone after i had been at work all day, but it's not fair to make Mr. Cigar leave his dogs every night either.

So one thing i'm seeing is that our dogs have to get to know each other.  It's not going to work for long if they can't be together.  I'm not willing to leave Koda alone all the time and he isn't willing to leave his pups either. (as it should be)  Given that his dogs are Corso's and i forget what River is, but she isn't a year old yet.  I have less anxiety about her than i do the Cane and Able. They might be all puppied out because River is a LOT.  

Last night he referred to me as his girlfriend.  He also asked me what my "endgame" is with him.  So we talked about it. About a lot of things. Then we went upstairs (I want nothing to do with that couch in his living room) and watched TV until he started snoring.  I passed out for a few hours and then went home.

It felt comfortable. normal. good.

While we were talking this morning I told him i realized i had never had a "status" for as long as i have known him.  I've never been titled as anything. He asked me if i title is important to me and i said yes it is, but the feelings behind it are more important.  I said i didn't want to walk around calling myself single and i didn't want him to either.

So. We are not single.  We are a couple.

We are a new relationship.  We had the official talk of understanding what we want, and came out with the same version.  Hallelujah.  

However, i am wary.  I was able to go through the reasons why with him.  Our start was not good, and our relationship has been tumultous.  We need to communicate better than we do because "the stressful times" have not come to a final end yet.  It might resolve itself on Thursday when he goes to court.  Or it might not.

Either way, he has to come to the very real truth that you don't just "get over" someone in a few days or by replacing them with someone else.  

It has felt different this time.  I know in my heart that his story with her is not over.  This is part of his life, good bad and/or ugly.  He has a messy ex.  I have a choice to walk away or stay.

There is also the fact that my friends are not fond on him due to how he has treated me in the past.  They want the best for me. They don't like how he has hurt me. (hell neither do i) 

My kids know next to nothing about him.  They know very little about me at all lately.  That is going to have to change.  I'm done being respectful of their privacy.  I want to know what the hell is going on in their lives and why i'm not part of it anymore.

Back to Mr. Cigar.  I'm not blind, or stupid but i do know i keep going back to him.  There is a reason for it.  I'm timid to say i love him because it feels like so much more.  He feels like home to me.  Even when he's being a dick, i identify with his ........dark side.  I understand his chaos because i have my own.  I know his damages.  I don't care for how he protects himself, but i understand it.

I was very blunt with him about the biggest problem we have is how he handles his anger and my triggers.  They are in direct conflict.  He withdraws suddenly and completely and that triggers my abandonment issues.  As old as we are, i don't know how we are going to get past that.

He's going to get mad again, i'm going to get triggered again.......we have to figure out how we can avoid killing or leaving each other during those moments.

The road ahead, is one day at a time.  My friends are going to have to understand this is my choice and what i want.  Mr. Cigar is going to have to understand that they have seen me hurt by him, and they are protective because they love me.  Time will tell.  I am not going to keep him a secret. I will not be kept secret.

In all relationships I take a chance of being hurt. I have had walls up around me since D an I broke up 10 years ago.  I'm not the girl that begs for love anymore.  I'm the woman that runs when it looks like I might start caring too much about someone who isn't showing me they care about me.  Both extremes are not doing me any service.

I need to be able to accept love as it's given, and use my words to express my needs if they aren't being met.  Not with sarcasm, not with accusations or assumptions.  Just plain and simple.  And i need to be able to trust.

He is going to have to keep his end up and now that we both know where we are coming from without dancing around the bush, or another person, we can begin to figure out what tomorrow looks like.

what can i say

 I am very tired.  Last night i went out to the movies with my bestie and got home at 9:45pm.  My night was just starting.

Mr. Cigar was waiting for me in the parking lot. He had asked if he could come, had said he was coming and yet, i didnt fully believe it until i pulled in and saw him.

Twice in one day?  This late at night?

We fell asleep together until he left at 2:30am to go home to the dogs.  

But first, we layed around talking and laughing and being stupid and very serious.  It isn't something i've experienced in a long long time.......this laying around together, perfectly at ease - and he said what i was thinking, like it was coming home.

He is still him.  However, he is in counseling, and being very transparent about his thoughts.  And he wanted me off the dating sites.

So i'm off.

His kiss is coming home.  I know i might eat my words, i might have regrets down the road, i might kick myself in the ass but time will tell.  And if i waste a few more days, or weeks - even months......at least i will be happy during that time.  And if we break up again we agreed not to do it during a fight. 

This is important to me because we always part ways during an argument.  We come from the same type of upbringing, we have the same kind of scars, and we both cut and run rather than get run away from. 

He has a lot of shit to deal with and work through.  He is far from perfect, just like me.  

No thinking about the future.  We have a history of flash in the pan reunions.  And breakups.  But we want to be together even when we don't.

I'm not going to feel bad about seeing him, and i'm not going to hide it.  I know there will be friends with opinions and if we are going to share our thoughts they better be ready to hear mine about their choices as well.

Thats all i'm going to say about that.  I'm listening to my heart, using my brain, and keeping my eyes open.  And i'm feeling better than i have in months.