GOSSIP FROM THE GIRLFRIEND GATHERINGS

Learning from YOU to empower ME !

“What Love Ain’t” – Your Comeback

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Imagine.

You have a “point-of-no-return” break up with your boyfriend.   Then you discover you are pregnant.   You decide to go it alone.   However, you become depressed and reclusive.   The only persons you will allow to visit are your family, a couple of close girlfriends and your childhood guy friend.

This guy comes over constantly.   He tells you how he always secretly admired you since high school.   He convinces you that he can “save your reputation” and be a good father to your child.   He gives you the attention you crave and makes you feel wanted.   You like this feeling.  It uplifts your self-esteem and self-confidence.  He proposes marriage.  You can’t muster up any passion for him but you “know” him and his family.    What do you do?

  1. Thank him for his proposal and caring but tell him he deserves someone who can truly love him.
  2. Marry him and adapt to being a passionless dutiful wife.
  3. Marry him and address your passionate needs with extramarital affairs.

My childhood friend was in this situation, and she chose #3.    She confessed to me that at her wedding reception she danced with her married lover from work.   She became a serial cheater which was a factor in her divorce.

The rebound relationship has tempted anyone that has been heartbroken.   Some of us believe that a new love cures a broken heart and the quicker we find that new love, the better.   We want the attention, the excitement, and the exposure of the new relationship.  However, there are emotional dangers in this behavior for you and the new partner. You may experience mood swings between elation and depression about the new relationship and losing the old one.   Your new partner may come to realize he is your second choice by some of your behaviors and start to feel used.

Here is a list of five behaviors that will indicate you are in a rebound relationship:

  1. You think about your Ex continuously even when you are with your new partner.
  2. Your new partner reminds you of your Ex, and this was the initial attraction for you.
  3. You want to frequent places with your new partner in tow where you may encounter your Ex.
  4. You just can’t put away those old photos of you with your Ex.
  5. Your new partner is only a temporary lover, and you don’t bother to include him in your inner circle.

Now as we look at these behaviors I know, as women, none of us want to be on the receiving end.   So, we need to be careful and allow ourselves time after a heartbreak, so we don’t perpetuate this type of behaviors on others.

L-O-V-E will cure a broken heart but it is the self-love from within that will succeed.

“What Love Ain’t” – Your Crutch

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Imagine.

You are a divorced father, and it is the weekend for your eight-year-old son to stay.   You wake up early as the day is dawning because you and your son are attending one of his all-day Boy Scouts’ events.   As you go out to pick up the newspaper to read with your morning coffee before your son wakes, you recognize a car park down the street facing your house.  It is the woman you are dating from the office sitting in her car watching your home at 6 am on a Saturday morning.   What do you do?

  1. Wave at her, acknowledge her presence and walk over to her car like this behavior is normal.
  2. Turn, go back inside your home and call her later to confront her about her behavior.
  3. Turn, go back inside your home and decide never to call her again.

I had a friend that did this to the man she was dating, and he chose #3.   True story.   She would not face her behaviors which resulted in her acting out in the workplace and having to get help from a mental health professional to keep her job.

The most significant fear of the needy woman is that something or someone will cause her to lose her man…her relationship.  Her focus is not about “him” the person but the relationship because it validates her.   One of the tell-tale signs of a needy woman is how she refers to the man in her life in general conversation.   If she refers to him by his name, this is good.   If she refers to him as “my husband” or “my man” like he is the purse on her arm, the jewelry she has adorned, or the vehicle she drives, then she may suffer from neediness.   When I hear this, I imagine the man stripped of his identity and humanity.

Now, that may seem harsh, but I remember a conversation I had with a man that opened my eyes to this phenomenon.   He told me what he liked and disliked in a romantic relationship.  One of the things he said was “I don’t want a woman who is sitting around waiting for me to come home and make her happy.”   Since I am completely the opposite, this piqued my curiosity.   I started observing the behaviors and conversations that women have about their relationships over the years.   I wanted to determine if there were indeed women who put so much of their well-being and happiness in the hands of a man.

Surprisingly, I found there are women from all walks of life who use the romantic relationship as a crutch to bolster their self-esteem, self-confidence, and worthiness.

Here are five of my most common observations about the needy woman:

  1. She must be in a relationship.   She will even hold on to one lousy relationship until she finds a new one.
  2. Insecurity and jealousy consume her which leads to her being very diligent in keeping her man from being near other women. She believes that all women have super-persuasive powers and can swoop her man away to make him do something he really doesn’t want to do.
  3. She voluntarily subjugates her routine to his routine to accommodate his life.
  4. She doesn’t foster and nurture independent relationships beyond the romantic relationship.
  5. She becomes suspicious and depressed if her man wants some space to foster his independent relationships (i.e., friends, spend time with children from a divorce).

I am a live-and-let-live kind of person, but I must confess that it is hard to witness the behavior mentioned above in a Sister.  However, I do realize that we are all on a journey to self-discovery and every path is not the same.   I hope that we all stay steady on that path and not deviate to pick up a “crutch” along the way.   The reality is no man wants to be your crutch and the recipient of your needy behavior.   He is an emotional human being, too, and not responsible for validating you.

L-O-V-E should not be about “needing from” another person but “sharing with” another person.   Keep that in mind, and you will avoid this relational pitfall to stay on the path to a meaningful connection.

“What Love Ain’t” – Relational Pitfalls

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Remember that song from the movie Urban Cowboy with a young, sexy, John Travolta?  It was called “Looking for Love” sung by Johnny Lee.   I remember one of the verses said, “Looking for love in all the wrong places” which really was an eye opener for some.   It inspired some of us to stop hanging out in the nightclubs looking for Mr. Goodbar and refining our search for Mr. Right in a more meaningful manner.

Well, I want to talk about another pitfall to relationships.  If it were a song, it would be called “Looking for Love with all the Wrong Behaviors.”

Before we can begin to relate to and with another person, some of us need to do some work.  Some of us need to look internally at what is happening which makes us act out externally in relationships.   So, since this is the month for L-O-V-E, I want to spend some time sharing about “what love ain’t” and how we are sometimes the catalyst that creates our relational pitfalls.

So, pick your favorite chocolate from the box, grab a glass of scrumptious bubbly and drop by for an informative visit throughout the month.

Love Story Starter #2

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Here is the story starter sentence:

The line on her ring finger betrayed her and she feared he would leave. He smiled and slid onto the stool next to her.

Here is LOVE STORY STARTER #2

The line on her ring finger betrayed her, and she feared he would leave. He smiled and slid onto the stool next to her.  Delilah was a little surprised, but perhaps she should not have been.  It was the age of the 50% divorce rate, and the ring finger line was now just as normal as apple pie.  Everyone said being divorced was no longer a label to feel disgraced about so she was determined to find a way to not feel like such a failure.   Ready, willing, and liberated. Tonight may be the first attempt in that direction.

Delilah glanced at his left hand and noticed there was a ring. She was surprised again because she knew he had no reason to wear it anymore.   Even though this night was about her and the pursuit of her desires, she paused for a moment to consider if she had made a wise choice in traveling down memory lane.

“You came,”  Delilah said.  She made direct eye contact with him.

“Yeah, I had to,”  Wilt said.

He looked around the bar and motioned to the bartender. The bartender came over and Wilt ordered a scotch.   He turned to her again with that half-smile that had captured Delilah’s heart more than ten years ago.

“It’s been a while,”  Wilt said.

“Yes, a very long while,” Delilah said.

“So, how have you been?”  He asked.

“Better.  Now.   You?”

Delilah watched as Wilt glanced down at his ring finger before he answered.

“Life had been good up until last year.”   He said.

“I know,”  Delilah said.  “I heard about Beverly.”

Delilah watched as Wilt twisted his band around his ring finger.

“Yeah, it was rough,”   Wilt said.

“It didn’t have to be,”   Delilah said.   She reached over and covered his hands.

The bartender arrived with Wilt’s scotch.   Delilah picked up her Long Island Iced Tea and proposed a toast.

“Here’s to reunions,” she said.

They tapped their glasses together and sipped their own drinks. Wilt put his glass down on the bar and made direct eye contact with Delilah.

“So, tell me, Delilah, why am I here?”  Wilt asked.

Delilah picked up her drink again and drained it.   She motioned to the bartender to bring her another one.

“Simple.  I want you. Again.”  Delilah said.

She reached into her purse, grabbed her room key, and slid it next to his drink on the bar.

Wilt looked at the key and picked up his drink.

“Really?” he asked.  “After what happened between us?”

Delilah laughed as she took the drink the bartender offered.

“Because of what happened between us.”

“Yeah.” Wilt replied as he pushed the room key back towards Delilah.  “That was something.”

Love Story Starter #1

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Here is the story starter sentence:

She felt as though she had just been given a death sentence as he slipped the ring on her finger.

Here is LOVE STORY STARTER #1

Pastor Henderson’s voice came toward me like water rushing through a tunnel.    I gulped down the knot of dread in my throat when Max lifted my hand.  He started repeating the words after Pastor Henderson.  I felt as though I had just been given a death sentence as he slipped the ring on my finger.    I closed my eyes for a moment to allow another face, another smile into my thoughts but Max squeezed my hand and snapped me back.  I knew I had to give my full attention to Pastor Henderson now.   I focused long enough to get through my wedding vows without a stumble.  Later, I posed in front of the altar for a photo shoot with my best friend and maid of honor.

“Are you okay?” Sandra asked

“Yes.” I said, holding onto my smile for the photographer’s camera.

“I wish you hadn’t done this.”   Sandra said.

Her words pushed me out of the pose, and I gave the photographer the time-out signal.  I turned to Sandra taking her hand and led her away into the dressing room locking the door behind us.   I walked across the room to the full-length mirror on the wall and stood in front of it to see if I still appeared the happy bride.   From the mirror, I saw the disappointment in Sandra’s eyes as she watched me.

“Look, you of all people know why I did this.”  I said.

“No, I don’t.”  Sandra said.

“I can’t do it alone.”

“You have resources and support.”

“I don’t want to do it alone.”

“You could have raised your child without this farce.”  Sandra said.  “I’m doing it.”

“But, I’m not you.”  I said.   “I don’t want to raise mine alone.”

“His father was willing to make a family.”

“Yes, but I didn’t want to marry him.” I said.  “He was just a fling.”

“Isn’t that what Max is really?  A fling?  An escape from the one you want but can’t have?”  Sandra walked around and stood next to the mirror facing me.  “You know you don’t love him.”

I looked directly at her face and saw her tight lips.   I knew I could never make her understand.  I just don’t have her strength.

“Look, Max has been a good friend over the years.  He will be a good husband, and he adores my son.   That’s all that matters.”

“That’s what you say, now.”

“That’s what I know now.”

“Ok, I give up.” Sandra said.   She turned and walked toward the door yanking it open.   I walked passed her, and we both stepped out into the hallway.

“Here comes your husband now.” Sandra said.   I saw Max and the photographer coming our way.

Soon we were finally done with all of the posing and posturings.    We rushed to the reception. We walked into the captain’s ballroom to the applause of our guests, and all I could hope for was to keep my smile in place.   After standing in the reception line, dancing with Max and my Dad, my feet ached. I needed a breather.   A restroom break was the perfect excuse.  Even in my wedding dress, I was able to sneak outside and up to the promenade deck.   The health club/spa was dark, but the door to the lobby area was open and offered the refuge I needed.   I sat on the bench farthest away from the door so that I wouldn’t be seen by anyone taking a late night walk.

Sandra was right but so was Max.   There was no reason for me to raise Joey alone.   Max and I had been friends for a long time.  This friendship was a good start.   Wasn’t it?   I’ll learn to love him in time.  Won’t I?

The moonlight gleamed over the calm of the ocean beyond the ship. I wanted that peaceful feeling to embrace me now.

“Hey”.

I jumped at the sound of that voice and turned toward the door.

“Sorry.  I didn’t mean to scare you.”   A tall silhouette said and slipped in the doorway.

“Troy?”   I said.

“Yes”.

“You’re here?”

“Yes.” The tall silhouette said as he walked toward me opening his arms.

I stood up and glided right into his embrace.  Now I was calm again.