Lenten grief brings Easter joy

As a small child I loved everything about Easter. I loved buying a new dress, a hat with a bow or flowers on it, and the obligatory white shoes. And since I was little and therefore not to be trusted with these items, I was forbidden to wear them until Easter came. In it's own way, this was a little Andrea's version of Lenten grief. It made me more aware of the passage of time, and more cognizant of the anticipation of Easter and the return of Christ. Or as my little brain put it, the return of the happy music and new clothes. The difference between Lent and Easter in the church has fascinated me as I've gotten older. All throughout Lent we grieve because we know that the death of Jesus is coming, however we also approach the season with anticipation because we know after the death there will be a resurrection for the sake of all. Unless of course you're a church lady, and then the entire season is mostly a jumble of decorating, redecorating, planning, cooking, purchasing, and practicing in anticipation for the 'big day'. Often in this situation the magnitude of the season is lost on those who are tied to it the closest, because they are the ones in charge of actually making it happen. Which kinda brings me to my whole point. My Lent has been full of grief. From finally starting to grieve over my relationship and losing my neighbor, to the general busyness of trying to get a show ready to open while also preparing myself for Holy Week. And on top of it all a friend of mine died. We had been close once upon a time, but that time was a while ago. At first I couldn't get any answers about what happened, but when I finally heard it through the grapevine I was utterly shocked. He had killed himself. I'm not sure why this surprised me the most, because he seemed so happy all the time, or because he was a man of God. I'm having trouble coming to terms with the fact that he knew the love of God, but that this wasn't enough. It's also hard because Easter is all about the resurrection after death, where this won't be the case for my friend. I've been very lost in my grief this season. I have been able to find so very little to make or keep me happy. I've started to wonder if my Lenten grief will inhibit my Easter joy. I understand that the whole point is to go into darkest night, just to emerge into God's glorious light, but what if my own personal darkness gets in the way of the joy? I often feel this way at Christmas as well. There is so much that needs to get done and that is expected of me, there is incredibly little time to revel in the joy. So what then? Will my Easter be just another Sunday? Will it mean absolutely nothing to me? Or will I be so completely overwhelmed and caught off guard by a joy that surpasses all human understanding? I can only hope that when I wake up this Easter morning to put on a dress I've worn a hundred times before, and shoes that are scuffed, and forsake the bonnet to save myself the embarrassment that I can walk into my church and feel a joy that takes me back to being a little girl full of excitement and joy and love for a man that she has never met, but that she knows loves her.

A trip away can change how you see where you are

I have finally changed the way I see things. This week was my birthday, and I love my birthday. I don't need things, but I love hearing from people who I love because it makes me feel appreciated. Well Tye Dye forgot my birthday. I was deeply hurt and disappointed. If we're trying to be friends, then he should have remembered. Today I got up the courage to ask him if he realized that he forgot my birthday. He said he did, he remembered it the day after, but that then it was too late. No apology, no belated 'happy birthday', nothing. This triggered something in my brain. He can't remember something that is very important to me, and so he is not in a place to even be my friend. it breaks my heart that he is so different than the guy I fell for, but that's just it: he really isn't the man i fell in love with right now. So for now, it's time to look at the other fish in the sea. I don't know if I will eventually see that Tye Dye is for me or not, but for right now it is time to see who else is out there and to stop beating myself up over the break up. These things happen, and in this situation there really wasn't anything else I could do. I still love him, but I will always love him for the things he taught me about other people, relationships, and myself. I wouldn't be the lady I am today without him. So a million thanks Tye Dye, but you're really being a butt-head right now.

It's been rough

Life lately has been less than pleasant. I've had a few people in my life die recently, including my life long neighbor who used to watch my brother and I when we had forgotten our house keys. She would give us snacks and play games with us. Unfortunately I had not visited her in quite a while when she died. And I'm not making friends in Phoenix quite like I hoped. I really have one friend in town. I had a group of guys that I was close with, mostly because I had been close with one of them since high school. However, he moved away in December, and I mostly lost touch with the group. But one by one, they tried to connect with me. We'd hang out, watch movies and mostly just spend time together. Then I'd find out that they mostly just wanted to get me into bed, and when they found out that was not going to happen they dropped me like I was on fire. I'm not sure why the universe feels like I deserve to be used by men because I only want friends right now, but I feel like I've had enough. I almost wish that I didn't love my job so much, because then I would just pack up and leave when my contract is up and never look back. Phoenix has never really held much for me, and since I went away to school, it has never been home. I miss the life I has just a short year ago. I miss the happiness I had, I miss everything I used to have.

Acceptance

"Only when we accept the full and honest truth about ourselves can we really sleep."

Perhaps this is why I haven't slept well in months. Until today, I had yet to admit to my part in Tye Dye and I'd break up. I ignored him. When his depression was the worst and he would reach out to me and try to talk to me, I didn't want to hear it. I sometimes would even physically walk away when he would talk about it. I hate that I treated him this way. Somehow I felt that if I simply ignored it, that it would go away. And eventually he stopped talking to me about it. I thought that meant that things were going better, but he had just stopped coming to me about it. I turned a blind eye on a man I love because I was not equipped to handle the things he was going through. And it was completely unfair to him, he respected me for dealing with my disease. He wasn't with me in spite of my disease, or because of it. He accepted it as part of who I am. And I didn't have the common decency to treat him with the same respect. I did not realize the depths of depression until we broke up. I didn't admit to how awful he could feel. I'm the only one to blame for this short coming. I could spew some crap about my stinted childhood, but the blame game never made anyone a better person. I screwed up. I failed. I failed him. I failed myself. And I failed the 'us' that used to be. Maybe now that he called me out on this subject, and I've admitted my fault perhaps we'll have a chance. I didn't want to admit that we would never had a chance until I admitted this to myself. I probably would have never admitted it if Tye Dye wouldn't have flat out told me. I think I miss his honesty the most. He always tried to make me at least be honest with myself. Even if we never make it back together, I now know all kinds of things about myself that I downright do not like, maybe that I even hate. But at least when I'm actually honest with myself I will be able to sleep?

Because I feel like I should

I've continued trying to date. Not because I want to, because I feel like it is expected of me. I feel like four months out of a break up one is supposed to be committed to trying to find another life mate. But it doesn't feel right. I made a mess of a situation with this guy. He's nice and everything, and I do like him, but I hate myself more for how I feel I've treated him. He has no idea that I'm still in love with my ex, or that I'm still harboring ideas of marrying him eventually. We've been on a couple dates, and he kissed me, but it felt like I was cheating on Tye Dye. I cried and debated the whole way home about whether or not to tell Tye Dye, but decided no because what would that actually accomplish? I don't want to be lonely and unhappy anymore, but everything I feel like I should be trying to do is making things worse. And this might sound absolutely silly, but I feel like I've been getting signs from God. Maybe you call it the universe but you know what I'm talking about. It seems like every time I'm in the car I hear a song about waiting for love or struggling with love through the bad times. It is true that these songs are incredibly popular right now which explains them being overplayed right now, but they very obviously change the way I feel. The first time I heard 'I won't give up' I felt this overwhelming peace and understanding. I can't imagine that this is just a coincidence, I feel like it was a sign that if I can be strong enough we'll be together again someday. Perhaps I'm just delusional, or perhaps it's true but either way it is helping me with everything that's happened.

I tried

I tried to move on. I went on a date. My first date since Tye Dye ad I split up. Nothing about it was right. He was nice, I enjoyed his company, but it wasn't right. I didn't feel right being there. I didn't feel like our personalities fit together. I had a conversation with my boss who is going through a break up herself. She flat out said, 'the more that I date the more that I realize they aren't (my other)'. It is nothing against these other people, but they just aren't the ones that still have our hearts. Now I'm conflicted whether or not to tell him about my ex. If I let the subject lie I feel like I'd be leading him on. I'm more damaged than he might want to deal with ad it's not fair. But maybe he wants nothing serious at all and I'm thinking more highly of myself than he does. I'm just not sure.

And on another different note. I've decided that I'm taking control over my healthcare. Well, kinda. I've decided that I'm not doing anymore tests that I don't feel like doing. If my skin disease has gone internal there is nothing that can be done for it that they aren't already doing to me/for me. So what's the point in worrying myself or in spending money I really don't have? So I'm supposed to get a ct scan and a pulmonary function test, but I say nay. I won't do it. Will my doctor be mad? Probably. Will other people be upset and not understand me? Absolutely. But this is my way of regaining my control over life. Is this in response to my uncontrollable love life? Perhaps. But whatever the reasons, I feel really good about my decision. I feel like I don't need to make myself or let myself worry about things I have no control over, and that's a really nice change from the way things have been.

So I'm reasserting my control over my life, and if I can't control my life, at least I can control how I feel about my life.

The continuing adventures of hurry up and wait

I'm in a constant space of waiting. And I've willingly put myself here. I saw Tye Dye last week in order to pick up some things that I had left at his apartment. Seeing him was really good at the same time that it was awful to heart wrenching proportions. We were nice, we asked how we were doing and we were more than civil to each other. But then he told me he was doing his best to get better, and I told him I missed him and he told me he missed me and loved me too. It isn't fair, to either of us. He wants to love me. He still cares about me, but there is something inside of his brain that won't allow him to. This depression monster has taken him away from me. I think it's almost worse without the finality of this break up. I'm waiting for him to get better because he still has my heart. I want nothing more than to be there for him, but that doesn't seem possible. I even want to say that in my heart of hearts I know he will get better, and that he'll come running back to me with arms wide open. But what if that's months from now? What if it's years? What if it never happens? My faith tells me that if I pray hard enough I'll find answers and that he can find healing, but what if it's not enough? When we were done talking I left and tried my damnedest not to cry on the walk to the car. I didn't quite make it and when I got in and closed the door I sobbed. I cried harder than I have in a long time. I cried for me, I cried for him, I cried for the 'us' that was lost. I cried because life is unfair, and I cried for the emptiness I feel without him. Later I sent him a text because I knew I had to ask but hadn't had the courage to do it in person. I asked him if he ever saw us getting back together he was completely honest. "Depends of if I can get better." A completely honest and real answer. It's what I asked for, and what I wanted. But it makes me wonder if I have given myself too much hope for our eventual future. At this point there are too many unknowns. I cannot reach a verdict. There are only so many options. Wait. Move forward. Run away. Leave. Stay. Wish. Hope. Yearn. Hurt. Never have I ever wished my life were a novel or a movie more than right now. I could skip ahead a half hour or a hundred pages and know how it ends up and then I could be content here, or at least know which way to turn. But I think I'll handle this the way that I handled getting lost in Walmart when I was six: run around for twenty minutes screaming for my mom, and then sit down and cry until someone who can help me comes along, and tells me where I can find her.