No, no baby... I don't blow smoke up anybody's boxers...
I only calls them like I sees them and it is being revealed to me that I sees them pretty clearly!
MUTUAL RESPECT
That is what makes a marriage work!
Love, love... what is love? When the two of you have bodies that are bent and broken from the passage of time, yet you still look upon each other with the same eyes that you did from the time that you first found each other to be "beautiful".... when your gnarled hand still reaches for her own careworn hands and the warmth and compassion is still abundantly eminent in your touch.... then you can share that "secret" with us.
No, there is no secret here...
It is all about RESPECT in marriage as it is in DIVORCE.
I know this will sound odd, FD, but this last year has taught me much... I have been through so many experiences; pain beyond my wildest nightmares... But the good news is that this adversity has build my character and strengthened the bond between me and my children... I hope now it can actually strengthen the bond between me and my soon2B ex... not as a husband and wife - no that relationship, well we sadly destroyed it a long time ago. But as loving parents and good friends.... The loving parents part, well we ARE BOTH - FINALLY headed in that direction.
Don't get me wrong - we BOTH ALWAYS loved the girls but our hatred, confusion, disappointment and self-loathing had distracted us from what was REALLY most important.... that which will bind us together FOREVER: our four precious and most beautiful girls.
It FINALLY dawned on me just YESTERDAY that my girls NEED to have a wonderful relationship with their dad... I NEVER did anything to stand in the way of this. But subconsciously I WAS making my girls feel BADLY for loving their father because he was so hell-bent on using them (also I believe, subconscious on his part) to hurt me.
I bought a candle yesterday for him. (It is mine, but it is symbolic.) I asked the girls who they thought it was for.... they thought of everybody under the sun EXCEPT their father. It is rectangular (like a brick) and sits in a frame... looks very much like a bed. It has TWO wicks. They understood IMMEDIATELY why I chose this candle for them. The two wicks symbolize the love of BOTH MY EX AND ME... and that we will be bound TOGETHER FOREVER BY THEM... (four cornered candle)... THE CHILDREN - THE FRUITS OF OUR LOVE - conceived of our marriage (hence, the marital bed). I glued four little butterflies to each corner of the frame (I bought the CD that has "Butterfly Kisses" for my ex for Father's Day one year... since then my girls have viewed their relationship w/my ex in this fashion.)
I told them, "See, just because Daddy and I won't be together as husband and wife any more (We will go to court next week, hopefully the divorce will be final then.) that DOESN'T mean that we don't BOTH LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!.... You guys will tie Daddy and me together - FOREVER!"
I can't tell you how happy this made them. They were so relieved. It was as if I "gave them permission" to love their father without feeling disloyal to me....
Why am I telling you this? Because FD, I have met you and I had felt such warmth and kindess from you - you are a GOOD MAN. I wish you happiness, strength and patience throughout the ENTIRE COURSE of your marriage....
Mine was over a long time ago, but it wasn't all bad. I was just hoping to impart a bit of my experience to you in the hopes that it would save you from some of the pain that I have felt.
Much Love to you and your most precious wife -
E