25 March 2013

I'll Try And Get Along With You

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I was washing conditioner out of my hair the last time Pete and I had an argument.  He started to talk about his frustrations and I braced myself behind the shower curtain.  There was some blame, some minimizing, a general lack of empathy and the conversation ended with me dripping wet in my towel, tears streaming down my face as I begged him to leave me alone. 

“We’ll talk about it later” I sobbed.
“But we never will.” He said as he left.

After that last discussion there were those typical days of awkwardness and chilly silence.  I felt the impending doom of the next phase of Pete’s addictive cycle. 
“Maybe it’s time to totally let him go.” Scabs told me.  “Let him fall.” 

So I tried.  And he did.  A relapse, or slip or lost battle or whatever you want to call it.  He had one.  And then another and another, dutifully confessing them to me each time.

The first disclosure came on my way home from work.  I said nothing.  That night we sat at the kitchen table and he asked me if I wanted to talk about it. 
“No.” I said.

The first time was the hardest time.  As he got up and walked out of the room it was all I could do to keep my butt in the chair.  I wanted to chase after him, extend an olive branch, I wanted to reconcile.  I wanted to ease his pain.  I desperately wanted to feel close to him. 

He told me that he didn’t think he had ever hit rock bottom.  Part of me wonders if I have been the emotional safety net that has caught him above the depths of his stony pit.  Validating, encouraging, comforting, engaging, participating.
After each confession in the last two weeks I have tried to respond the same way.  “Okay.  Thanks for telling me.”  No more emotionally exhausting, late-night conversations analyzing the relapse.  No more questions about how it happened or how he handled it.  No more invasion of his addiction.  I’m on the sidelines this time.  I’m not in the game, and I’m not even the coach. 

Feeling a little nervous about this method of detachment I asked my counselor if it was healthy.  She pointed out that my previous methods had done nothing to help Pete’s cycle of addiction, but more importantly my previous methods were not getting me to the place I wanted to be.  After obsessively trying to detach the “RIGHT” way, she kindly pointed out that because all addicts and codependents are different, every method is going to be different.  What is effective for one, might not be effective for another.  When I told her about how I was letting it all go, almost completely, she smiled and said
“Try it.  See how it goes.”

The other night Pete asked me what I expected of him.  I told him I had no expectations.  For the first time I am not emotionally attached to any outcome.  I expect, that tomorrow morning I will wake up. And I will live my life.  I will do what makes me happy if I want to be happy.   If he is not healthy enough to be a part of that, then maybe he’ll pursue recovery.  Or maybe he won’t.  But I’m not going to mope around about it.  If I feel like being pleasant, I’m going to be pleasant. 
I’m not saying I don’t have my sad moments.  But when I have them, I own them.  They are not obligatory, and they are not a parallel of his.   They are not an inevitable, uncontrollable response to his addictive cycle. 

I don’t have to punish him by invoking the silent treatment.  I don’t feel compelled to be in a sour mood toward him as a demonstration of my hurt.  Nor do I feel responsible to make a soft place for him to land.  I am totally relinquishing any responsibility I felt for his happiness. 
The other night I watched an episode of Parenthood where Sarah says to her teenage daughter

“I’m done trying to control you.  It doesn’t work.  I just don’t want us to be like this.  I love you so much.  I think I’ll just try and get along with you.”

And that about sums it up for me.

14 comments:

  1. Good, Jane. Great, actually! May the Lord fill you with peace.

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  2. I'll keep you in my prayers. <3

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  3. I love this. Awesome. It reminds me of that link on Scabs sidebar: detaching 180.
    You are awesome.

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  4. I am also trying to let it all go. It's tough. You've given me hope. Thank you so much for your post.

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  5. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    1. Thank you for your comment TJW. I removed the content to protect the identity of your exwife. I hope you can find true recovery and peace. God bless.

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    2. PS - I don't think I do know her. So maybe you should tell her yourself.

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    3. I would if I could. But she won't allow me to talk to her unfortunately. Thanks for wishing me well. :)

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  6. I have just recently gone thru the same thing. It's so hard to detach and not ask a bunch of questions. I have gone so far to say I don't want to hear about his acting out. I assume he is doing it and hearing about it when it happens is just soo painful. I told him I only want to know when he has a minimum of a week sober (which he has only done twice since the beginning of the year). My sponsor has been telling me lately to give up expectations - which was so difficult. I struggled with how can I not have expectations of the person I have chosen to spend the rest of my life with? The person that I have chosen to be my partner, my confidant, my friend, my lover? I have expectations from strangers! It has been very humbling for me, and forced me to realize that I can validate myself, that I can comfort myself, that I am a worthwhile person even in the face of pretty heavy addiction. I still have resentments and anger and hurt, but I am working hard to pull myself out of that. You are awesome and I wish you strength and peace and comfort.

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    1. Thank you. And I wish you strength and peace and comfort as well!

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  7. Love you, Jane.

    YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS!

    Jacy

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  8. This really hit me hard..."I don’t have to punish him by invoking the silent treatment. I don’t feel compelled to be in a sour mood toward him as a demonstration of my hurt. Nor do I feel responsible to make a soft place for him to land. I am totally relinquishing any responsibility I felt for his happiness."

    I have always been the soft place to land after each disclosure. This gives me a lot to think about. I really don't think my husband has hit a real rock bottom yet.

    Thanks for your insights! And YES I agree with ANON, "You can do hard things!" May I add through Christ, who give you strength.

    Hugs:)

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  9. This is a great post! Something I am currently learning a lot about. Detachment is scary but I am learning that it free's up so much emotional space for me. Thanks for sharing your insights!

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  10. Thank you for your vulnerability. <3

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