Firstly, thank you everyone for your comments and responses. I value them all. BH also told me he posted an update to his JFO thread recently, and that it caused some disagreement over there. He mentioned feeling like people were trying to influence him ("trying to sell me something" were his exact words). For anyone who is posting over there as well, please note that he's very sensitive to that.
Joypursuit - I so appreciate your comments and your encouragement - Thank you so much for taking the time to leave them. Based on what I've heard BH say, I suspect that he feels the same way you do.
He says a lot of things that are similar to the things you mentioned. Things about "of course not" and about how he's not telling people because if he did decide to stay they would judge him (his IC asked him why he felt that way, and his response was "because I would judge me for staying"). He's also mentioned not being able to take it if I strayed again. Between the disdain he has for "allowing" infidelity, the fear he has of if I do it again, and the insecurity he's feeling - all while at the same time caring about me in some capacity - I'm certain that his internal conflict is off the charts. The mood swings aren't dramatic, but they are there. I don't blame him for keeping me at a safe distance.
Regarding normal - I think I put it in one of my posts, but he actually told me once that falling into how we used to be would mean I would be how I used to be, too (which obviously neither of us want). So a large part of it is definitely an aversion to the setup that resulted in so much pain for him. It's completely rational, entirely understandable, and a really important reminder for me. Old "normal" isn't good enough. It never was, honestly, because it included all of the behaviors that led me to betray him. New "normal" has to be better. More considerate. More kind. I'm not sure if his feelings about a "new normal" starting from friendship are as defined as yours are, but if they are it would fit with his boycott on all types of physical contact. It's a bit difficult right now because in addition to that, he doesn't want to do any activities with me...but I can still be here when he wants me to be, and I can listen when he wants to talk.
sensibletinch - Thank you. It's a really interesting feeling to realize that I am in the process of knowing myself in a way and at a level that I've never even approached, before. The depth of my understanding of who I am and what I struggle with is so much richer, already. My IC asked me yesterday what I thought it would be like to live without my self-limiting coping mechanisms, and the unrelenting self-criticism. Those things are so integral to how I conduct myself, I couldn't even answer her. The idea of being without them doesn't even make sense. But even recognizing when they are there makes me feel healthier, more in touch with myself, and more grounded. I have a fledgling comfort with experiencing my feelings that is brand new to me. I have an interest in them, now, when I used to shove them into the darkest corner of my mind and reject them. Even if I'm not sure what I'm going to do about them, the awareness that they are there feels really important. I'm excited to see where this journey takes me, because I'm certain it will be better than where I came from.
ohforanewme - I appreciate your insight more than I can say - it clarifies what he said in a way I had trouble seeing. If I cheat again, then he can absolve himself of any sense of the failure of the M being "on him". Right now, faced with my attempts to "make it right" (or as "right" as is possible under the circumstances), that could make him feel guilty for wanting/needing to end it anyway. Going along that same train of thought, and thinking about what 1985 and Joypursuit said, the internal conflict he's going through is certainly agonizing, to the point where he likely would choose any definitive answer over the battle raging inside him right now. While a relapse would hurt him further, it would bring an end to the back-and-forth he is dealing with, and in some ways maybe that's preferable to him.
I am resolved to not make BH feel as though ending the M is anything other than his right. I'll admit that I have not always been the best at that, in the past -- it's always been my intention, but in practice I've failed, sometimes. It would sadden me, for reasons I've mentioned, but he should get the chance to be happy. I had my chance to be the person he was happy with, and I destroyed it. Being given another one would be a gift, but I'm not entitled to it. No WS's are.
All of that is to say: While he might be the one to pronounce the death of our M, I'm still the murderer.
Also: I have started to read in D/S as of a week ago or so, but just a little. I haven't found it to be as helpful as here, but I might not have chosen the right threads. It's on my reading list in an attempt to prepare myself for when/if the day comes.
xhz700 - I really appreciate your analogies. They illustrate so well. I'm trying to "ride the wave" as you say - I stay and listen, but I often don't know what to say. It's frustrating for me, because I want him to know that I'm engaged and what he is saying is resonating...it just takes some time for me to process. But I'm trying. He's recognized some of the efforts, so at least there's that.
You're absolutely right about it being a marathon, and I'm sure it will be more work than I can even imagine right now. It's already so much, and I know I'm just seeing the tip of the iceberg. And I am aware (now) that I need to be careful about expecting/wanting too much progress, too fast. It's a sign of old defense mechanisms creeping in, and those are what opened the door to the A in the first place. It's likely also a sign of rug sweeping. So, I'm trying to be patient. I'm reminding myself to "live the questions". I'm making an effort to let go of the destination, and focus only on the journey. It's hard for me - I still have a long way to go. But I'm trying in earnest.
M1965 - This is a valid point. I've thought a lot about it. My parents have brought it up, as has my IC.
Yes, I took BH for granted for years, and repaid his loyalty and commitment with betrayal. Yes, I invested time and effort into the affair - time I could have (should have) been with BH and effort that our M deserved. I was not out "chasing" men, however. That doesn't make what I did any better - it honestly might make it worse. At least if I were pursuing something I would have had some sense of self. Instead, I was so out of touch with myself that I wouldn't have even known what I wanted enough to pursue it. I was adrift, desperate for someone to fill the hole I'd created within myself and unable to even recognize that it was there. It's terrifying to realize how shut off I was.
To answer your question directly: My A had nothing to do with BH, and everything to do with me. It had nothing to do with our M, except that the same destructive behaviors that led to the A were a huge detriment to the M as well...which then contributed to the feelings that made me even more vulnerable to the A. I could have the best M in the world, but that wouldn't fix the broken pieces inside of me. As for why I sacrificed my integrity: I have a litany of unhealthy coping mechanisms, and the thing about them is that they aren't enough. The greater the stress, the more I pile them on, and the more disconnected from myself I become. When I become disconnected from myself I become disconnected from my values, and convictions. I lose touch with the things that I pride myself on - the things that insulate me from making terrible choices. And in that situation, it doesn't matter what my M is like, because I'm not feeling it. I'm preventing myself from feeling anything. No one can expect something outside of themselves to fix their insides, nor should they. That work can only be done internally.
I hope I haven't given the impression that I am in any way confused by why BH is struggling with if he should take me back. I'm not. If anything, I'm surprised that he didn't kick me to the curb the moment we got back to the US after DDay. The only reason he should take me back is because he decides that he wants to, for whatever reason. I suspect that any reason he would have would not be rational, or logical, because rationality and logic would say "there are 7 billion people in the world. Surely you can find one that is better than this cheater." That is true of every WS here, and yet...BS's sometimes stay. I don't know that mine will be one of them. I honestly expect that he won't.
Michigan - This has crossed my mind, but since M wasn't terribly important to BH from the beginning, I don't know that the change in title will mean much to him. There is a possibility of that arrangement being our reality for at least some time, due to logistics, but I don't think there would be any coming back from it and I can't see BH wanting to "drag out" any kind of relationship with me, once he's decided to file. But who knows? I'll have a better idea if/when presented with it.
xhz700 - I am glad you mentioned this, because I have thought a lot about it. I don't feel hopeless, or shamed by it. I acknowledge that there is no way for BH and I to reclaim the relationship we had, because simply put we are different people now. People that are more jaded, and scarred. We will both take this experience with us to our graves. It has left its mark on us, and how we see the world. He will never trust anyone like he trusted me. And, honestly, even if he could, he shouldn't. I will never trust anyone (including myself) the way we both trusted me, either.
1985 - I have no expectation of returning to "pre-A", and knowing what I know about myself, a part of me doesn't want to. It is hard to really want to go back to a time when all of that was still festering within me like a timebomb. That's not to say that I don't wish I could have spared BH all of this hurt, or that I don't wish I had made a different decision for each and every thing that led to the A. I've made enough of those wishes for every star in the sky. But looking back, I can recognize in myself a very damaged, profoundly unhealthy person. A person who did not have the skills to cope with the challenges of adult life. I could not function like that forever - something had to give. Maybe it would have been a reemergence in earnest of my self-harm behaviors, or even worse, an attempt to end my life. Maybe it would have been some kind of chemical dependency or some other method of sabotage I haven't even figured out. They all would have had tragic effects on BH. They all would have ruined my life, and maybe his if left unchecked. The fact is that I was not equipped for dealing with the world I was living in. Now, at least I'm aware of that and working to fix it.
As I've said before, I am determined to be a better person coming out of this than I was going in, which I realize is not a very high bar. It is my hope that BH will recognize the effort and the progress enough to want to try to build something new with me (which I believe would be worth the effort), but that is not the reason why I'm doing it. The reason is far more selfish, and it's this: I can't stand to be this person, anymore.
Sharkman
(and Joypursuit/xhz700)- I'm combining this response since I think it addresses all of your comments. BH told me on Friday when his IC asked him what he wanted, he said "I don't know." I believe that to be true, in the way that Joypursuit and xhz700 suggest.
The last couple of days, he's seemed to be leaning hard toward calling it quits. I don't know if that will change or not. I can't know the rollercoaster he's on, and so I am doing my best based on the information I have. Yes, it's imperfect and incomplete, and yes it's absolutely susceptible to being colored by my own wants, but it's the best I can do. I've told him already that I will sign the papers if he wants to file them. He hasn't. I leave him alone to the extent that I can while still occupying the same house. I am committed to not pushing him in any direction, and I take pains to ensure that he has to interact with me no more than he wants to on any given day. I know that he is concerned about me getting the wrong idea - it's been discussed at length already in this thread, and between the two of us.
I can only interpret his lack of filing as indecision, and I can only interpret his statement to his IC as confirmation of the same.
So, to recap:
If he wants to file, I'll sign.
If he wants time to make a decision, I'll give him time.
If he wants to try and build a new life with me to replace the one I burned to the ground, I'll throw everything I have into it.
He knows all of the above. What he does with that information is up to him. In the meantime, I will be here until the day he tells me to pack my stuff and get out.
[This message edited by CantSleepCantEat at 9:12 AM, August 30th (Wednesday)]