Beautiful are the Feet
Thursday, August 10, 2023
Test
I Disagree
Friday, August 4, 2023
That first Monday
That first Monday
My home was empty
We were in our own homes
We didn’t gather
We were out on our own
My home was so empty
My couches so empty
My dishes all clean
The silence was
Deafening
What do we do now?
I’m in my house in grief
A grief my family
Doesn’t seem to share
Some still there
Some have gone
Now it’s been so long
Who even cares
Anymore
I wasn’t ready for that empty nest
For the ten years of distance
For the pretending everything is okay
I went off and did my own thing
The “right” thing
I stayed in the fold
I worked for the shepherd
I distanced myself from those who had walked away
I abandoned my friends
I abandoned myself
And when shit hit the fan
And more shit hit the fan
And even more shit hit the fan
The ones in the fold
Folded
Crumpled
Unable to withstand the depth of my despair
Even I couldn’t stand the deep, drowning waters
But those who had walked away
Listened to their bodies and
Heard the request for rest
They were ready to really care
To see my exhaustion
To just be there
Not fix it
Not excuse it
Not minimize it
Not say empty words
Just be
Maybe there will come a time
When they’re exhausted by me too
But at least the supports are multiplied
Not divided as
We once thought they were
Tuesday, July 18, 2023
Anxious/Avoidant
Anxious/Avoidant
I am feeling anxious in a friendship, again.
I think I might have messed it up, again.
I think I am too much, again.
How did we go from
Random reconnection to
Daily conversations to
Why do I suddenly need this attention
All the time.
I’m trying to be cool about it
But I am struggling to not equate
an answer with acceptance
Has a boundary been drawn and
I don’t know about it?
Am I in trouble and
I don’t know about it?
Have I made a mistake and been inappropriate and
I don’t know about it?
What is this anxious-avoidance?
I think I must have scared him off
My female mental problems must be
Too much for him
My honesty and vulnerability must be
Too much for him
Every single wave crashes over me like a marching band’s cymbals clanging over my ears
Enveloping my senses in disorientation
Which way should I go next?
The friend, the important one, has gone away and I am
Disoriented
I look to others to validate me
But they are gone and
I have to validate myself.
My mother, my friend, my validator.
But she would leave and I would be
Left alone to wonder if I’m
Worthy.
Wonder if I’m safe
Am I safe here?
Without someone to reassure me that I am, I’m not sure
I’m left to
Guess
“I may become more avoidant as you become more anxious”
Is he working me?
Is this his treatment, for my good?
Maybe.
He has no claim to me
He is not my husband or
A family member
He is a guy who knows a lotta stuff and is
Letting me be his friend.
His withdrawing may have a
Perfectly reasonable reason
Like when my mom would go to work
She was gone and I had to wait
Will she come home? How can I know?
And it’s okay for an adult to have a reason or no reason to be distant.
Is he letting me “complete the stress cycle”?
Is he letting me process on my own?
Even at dinner, a rushed dinner, I didn’t want to talk about surface things
I didn’t want to talk about funny stories
I didn’t want to talk about light banter
I wanted to be real
Be true
Be myself
Not some put-together version
But there is less freedom in a crowd.
I am safe.
I can be neurotic.
He will tell me when to stop.
He will. And he has.
And I am safe.
He won’t ghost me
Gaslight me
Make me feel
Crazy.
He won’t.
He promised.
And I know in my soul that I am safe here.