What I Learned From A Mistress

Rose

She’s a sweet girl…” my friend assured me.

OK…” I walked next to her heading to this upscale restaurant/bar inside a wine shop last Saturday night to meet up with this new girl alongside my other friends.

Surely, I’m glad I’ve been ‘warned’ about this new girl.

She’s a Mistress.

If one word could freeze me cold is that word. Mistress…it even leaves a bad taste in my mouth trying to pronounce it. Subconsciously, I had a strong reaction against the word and for all women behind it. After dealing with infidelities, yes, I strongly dislike other women who are willing to play the role as “The Other Woman”. To me, these women are home-wreckers and I honestly have no respect for any of them.

I could’ve declined the girls night out invitation…but I went anyway.

We shook hands, she’s a beautiful very friendly woman. Very confident and easy going.

The wine quickly came flowing. We had our dinner. Nice chats. But I was careful in what I was saying, secretly felt glad that I didn’t sit next to her as I would feel a little awkward. Overall, she was a good host.

The night goes on…we moved to a different place.

After a few drinks, I began to relax and started to loosen up a bit and started to enjoy our girls night out. We laughed, we kicked back, we danced. We had fun.

The next day, I found out more details about her.

She’s also a single mom who was cheated on repeatedly by her dead-beat ex-husband. She have a great career. Came from a well-off family. Financially, she’s doing really well, she doesn’t need any money from her sorry ass-ex husband to support her and her child because he’s not paying anyway.

She fell in love with the wrong man. A married man with children.

As an outsider, it’s so easy for me to judge, to say “She’s so much better than this!” or “But she could’ve pick any man she wants to!

But you can’t pick who you fall in love with…I guess…

And she has chosen that path although I’m sure growing up she would’ve never imagine she’d be where she is today.

Her story is actually a sad one. So sad really that I can’t help but feeling sorry for her. Her story is opening up my eyes.

It shifted the way I see the whole Mistress phenomenon…that maybe there are two kinds of them out there. The ones who truly fell in love and stays despite the fact that ‘their man’ can’t leave their real families to be with them fully and they’re content with having whatever arrangements that works for them. Then there’s one who became Mistress solely for financial reasons.

Seeing her, learning about her story alter my way of thinking for sure. She taught me that behind every label there is an individual with variety of different stories. I could’ve gone with my ‘morally correct’ belief and steer clear from befriending someone who is a Mistress. I was once in the opposite side of her story. I was once “The Wife” so I can totally relate to how the wife must’ve feel. But if I did that, I might missed on this important life lesson.

Never judge…

 

The choices she made and took may go against my beliefs but it’s her rights. It is her life.

As hard as it sounds. Mind your own business.

She’s a nice girl and will I hang out with her again? Absolutely!

photo by: .bobby

Final Pieces

Final Pieces

It was time…

I’ve held back long enough and the time had finally arrived.

So I opened that small drawer in my closet. Had to dug, took a few things out before my hand felt it. A golden small box.

Time freezes as I pulled it out of the drawer and sat on the edge of my bed that morning, two days ago.

As I opened the lid up, there lays two ring with a broken symbol. Something I haven’t seen in nearly two years.

The first ring…

Was something that I used to think of as the most beautiful thing I had ever wore. A token that I thought I was going to keep forever when it was first given to me 7 years ago.

I lift the small ring…it was dull probably from wear and tear or just from me not wearing it for so long. It had lost its sparkles, one that blinded me 7 years ago. The hope it symbolize of a new beginning had died but I still remember vividly of how over the moon I felt when he got on that one knee and popped the question.

Fast forward to two years ago, he refused to take it back, instead he slid it back into my purse when I picked up boxes of my belonging before I left the apartment for one last time after he and I said our final goodbyes.

Carefully I put that ring back into the box.

I picked the second ring…

It was bigger, brushed with one small diamond encrusted in it. Ironically, it was only 3 years old. My parents got that as a present in 2009 when Mr. X and I had our church ceremony. It replaced, the original wedding bands. Yes, he and I didn’t get the church ceremony until 4 years after the initial civil wedding.

Ironic, because at the time my marriage was already at the edge of a cliff – no one knew about it.

The saddest part was my parents really looked so happy that day. Me, their one and only daughter had finally gotten the church’s blessing! My father shed happy tears…albeit the fact that it took place at my parents’ house lead by a pastor not at a church like I’ve always dreamed of growing up.

Those rings may seems perfectly normal in another eyes.

But not in mine…

To me, they are beyond broken. They are invisibly shattered. The moments he stepped out of the circle of what suppose to be a holy matrimony band – he broke the rings. The vows meant nothing.

So today was bitter-sweet…

Sitting at the jewelry store today, watching the jeweler examined those rings… I knew I am letting go one last piece of evidence from my past life. My Mom sat next to me. She didn’t say much. My son happily swirling the stool around. That boy is my only evidence left of the marriage that ended two years ago.

I looked down at my bare fingers…

The pale spot on my ring finger had disappeared. I had stopped the subconscious movement of the fingers to adjust those rings that were no longer there like I used to do for years.

My fingers may be empty for now. But one day…I can see someone sliding something in there again someday and it will be different. There won’t be any trip like this to resell it because those rings will be mine forever.

One day…

And I smile…

My heart was lighter.

Liberated, finally!

If you are divorced, what did you do with your ring(s)? How long did it take you to do anything to them? 

Knowing When Enough Is Enough

Enough

I envy you so much…” Her voice trails off into the darkness…her eyes wonders off to the unknown horizon.

Huh? Why??” The very notion of her question took me by surprise.

Because you have it all under control. You took the leap and let go of your pain.” I can feel every inch of her pain tucked deep behind every words and my heart is breaking. “And now you’re in a happy place.” She let a sigh heavily slipped through her troubled soul “And I can’t do the same thing…

God, my heart is scattered right then and there for her. Such a beautiful tormented soul.

I did that…took the leap…and I am now in a happy place but I still have my moments you know. The healing process is a journey.” I wanted to hug her “Everybody is different. You’re actually stronger than you thought.

Wished I could gave her a more assuring, a more clever witted wisdom loaded answer than that but she knows that I care a whole lot.

If I was strong, I would’ve left a long time ago…

When Enough Is Enough

Yes, I took that leap of faith – maybe blinded by so much emotion – but now looking back I could positively say that I sure am glad that I did what I did. Yes, that one top shot lady lawyer blamed me for moving out while I sat in her fancy office bawling my eyes out because she said that was the stupidest move ever.

In the two years leading up to my moving out, there were plenty of times where I contemplating on leaving but never have the guts to actually do it. Hoping he would change made me decided to stay, to fought a little more to glue together a marriage that was clearly had fallen apart at the seams.

Until that moment came…

It was exactly two years and ten days ago, that I finally got the guts to walk away.

Two years and ten days ago, just two days after my birthday, I saw those smiling faces mocking me through the monitor and my life was forever changed.

Two years and ten days ago, I came ‘home’ to that cold sanctuary that supposed to be ‘our home’ and packed up as much of my stuffs as I can. Moved out on 4 March 2010. To add a dramatic touch…I smashed ‘our’ framed picture on the living room floor and shred the picture to pieces and drop that smiling picture of the love birds on top of the mess.

Two years and ten days ago, my world was shaken to its core, my belief in marriage shattered.

Two years and ten days ago…I started hating my birthday.

I was in the darkest deepest pit of despair

That was my “I-had-enough-moment!”, albeit the short-lived attempt to try and fix the marriage again, in a way it was the pain that pushed me to regain my life.

There is no clear cut ways of knowing when enough is enough. Every marriage is different, every case is different. If I had the courage to walked out and end mine, it doesn’t mean I expect all my unhappily married friends to follow suit.

I’ve heard stories of women staying in unhappy marriage for so many different reasons for years, some never leave but it’s their choice and I try not to judge and be supportive instead.

Should You Stay Or Should You Go

As a friend, part of me wish she would leave, would reclaim her own happiness in life instead of living in pain all the time. She deserves better than living a lie that slowly kill her soul inside.

She knows how I feel but I won’t dictate her. If she decided to stay then I would be right there on the sideline being her shoulder to cry on and letting her venting it all out because I understand…I was in her shoes over two years ago. Should she chose to leave she knows I’m there for her too.

That goes for all women contemplating on ending their marriage for whatever reasons. No one can tell you what to do! Knows that if you decide to stay there are prices to pay and maybe – just maybe – your marriage can be salvage, but there are also prices to pay when you decide to get divorce.

Only you knows what is right for you and especially if you have children involves then things won’t be as clear cut.

In a way it’s a catch 22 when there are children in the mix and I can’t give you any advice on what to do other than do what’s best for YOU. I decided to end my marriage because of infidelities and it wasn’t easy but yes, I am in a much happier place today.

And no, I don’t hate my birthday anymore.

I have more reasons to celebrate life now.

If you are divorced when was that moment that you know you had enough? If you are not divorced, what advice would you give to your unhappily married friends?

PS: I’m linking this post up with Shell’s Pour Your Heart Out: Second Anniversary celebration. Go check it out.

A Tall Order? The Man Criteria, Second Time Around

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I honestly don’t know…”

My head shook as I tried to answer that one simple question one of my best friends asked.

After my world, my belief, my visions were shook to the core it is not easy to know what I want to find in a man anymore.

So her simple “What kind of man are you looking for?” caught me off guard. One that I can’t answer straight off the bats.

© Photographer Eduardkraft | Agency: Dreamstime.com

Should she asked me that a decade ago or so I would simply whip it out and lay down my list of ‘that ideal guy’ on the table with a passion.

Back then, I was a young naïve girl with a vision of what the perfect love is – or so I thought – but I knew what I wanted.

Fast forward to my nearly 33 years of living, after being a mother and a divorcee, things has changed…shifted.

When I looked back at my young naïve self, I saw how much she tend to see the world through that rose tinted glasses. A fantasy world she built came crumbling when the reality is not as sweet as her dreams. Of how easy she handed her heart out…to the wrong kind of guys.

Now, the things that didn’t even matter in my youngster years somehow made it to the list. Little things that young me failed to recognize are now becoming factors.

Mentally I no longer kept a list of my ‘perfect man’ as there is no such thing as a perfect man just like there’s no perfect girl out there.

What I envision now is someone who is not afraid of my past, who can understand where I’m coming from. Someone who knows that there will be moments where ghosts from my past emerged and scared me but I know I will win and cast them away for good. Above all, just like any other single moms out there…I see someone who can accept this little person that will be part of his life too. That is very important for me!

To love me is to love my boy too…

A tall order, I know.

But that’s just how it will be and I know he’s is out there.

So yeah, when I meet him I will know.

Are you a single mom/dad? Do you find your ‘list’ of that ideal man/woman changed after your divorce?

Glimmers of Hope

Do you read horoscopes or astrological signs on magazines or even online?

Rainy marguerite macro II
Creative Commons License photo credit: tillwe

Sometimes I read them for fun, nothing serious. If I happen to be skimming through one of my mom’s trashy tabloids and it’s there yeah, I’d read it.

Somehow, I landed on a specific video on YouTube two nights ago. At first I was like “Oh, another mumbo jumbo about planets!” so I fast forwarded a bit then hit play. Just when I was about to close it down. The soft voice of the lady froze my finger mid air.

You had a vision of your life and how it would be and what you discovered in the past 2 years or so…it’s just like a giant big wrecking ball came and wiped it all away. Your life was dramatically altered for you. Things has not gone to plan. Two years ago you were dealing with the wrecking ball feeling of this. Destruction of something in the part of your world.”

My jaws dropped…followed by my tears

Silently in the dark room, right next to my peacefully sleeping boy I started sobbing as this lady’s voice ‘talk’ to me. This lady who was coincidentally or not was saying things so spot on about how my life has been in the past two years.

Altered Visions

No one wish they would get a divorce or wake up to face their biggest fears of confronting their cheating spouse and realizing everything has gone ashtray. To wake up and faced the final curtains.

Just like most girls, I used to dream of the whole beautiful wedding gown, its veil and such. Of walking down the aisle with my dad holding my hand before handed me, his only daughter to the hand of that one man I will spend the rest of my life with.

Yes, I got married. Not in a church but I got married to the man I thought forever was real and without any of my family presents.

I dreamed of babies…I dreamed of pink bows and I got a beautiful baby boy who makes me the proudest mama ever.

I never thought after having a baby I would hate everything but it happened and it only took nearly 4 years to find the name for those demons.

When everything started to fall apart I blindly tried to hang on. Bent myself over backwards, tried to patch those holes to keep the ship afloat without realizing the captain had physically and mentally flee. It wasn’t until the water reached chest high and my bones shivering from the bitter coldness that I realized I better start swimming or I will simply drown.

My hopes were dashed…killed.

Grieving

Did I ‘properly’ grieve? I’m not quite sure. Yes, the first couple of months after I left him felt like a haze. All I could remember was I cried and rocked myself so much alone in a bedroom that belong to one of my brothers. I can’t eat let alone function. Honestly, I can’t remember much except for the sharp pain and the numbness.

Even when I thought I was used to the pain – after trying so hard to work things out – prior to me moving out, things has been hellish and hard. But facing the reality was even scarier than I thought.

Maybe I was on auto pilot mode…yeah, maybe I was. Then as I realized I still have a son who needs me much. I just plow through. One day at a time.

Wish I can get Xanax or something to help me through but nope…not even a counselor. Just some self help books and dear dear close friends. But sometimes I still wonder if that’s even enough? Did I grieve enough? Or I just suppressed them so no one can see it?

Just the way I went to covered it all up on this blog and didn’t come out about it until many months later. After writing daily about a happy family that didn’t even exist anymore. How pathetic is that? Yeah, I did that.

My friends thinks I’m strong when in reality I’m not that strong. I still grieve and still cried once in awhile. Not as much as I used to but the grieves from the demise of my marriage is still there.

I don’t want to be that girl, you know the one who keep talking about how her ex messed her life up so bad but I honestly feared I was slowly becoming her. I don’t want my blog to be such a depressing blog. There was so many bitterness inside me. Still so much pain. And when people say “You’re now divorced, get over it!” I feel like woaa wait till you get one and try telling yourself that! Maybe people deal with grief differently.

Ripples of Hope

This year will be the 2 years  since I moved out and left him. He has now remarried and moving on. So why can’t I?

I broke one toe nail many years ago from doing white water rafting. Now if you see that nail, it looks perfectly normal but the numbing pain still comes and goes.

Will my heart mend like my toe? I’m sure it will eventually.

Almost two years…I should be further away from the epic center of the earthquake that shook and shattered my world. The destruction was done, my life has changed forever. I can now clean up and rebuild.

Last year I was still too close to the epic center. I can’t even bring myself to go to weddings. But next month, I’m going to one. Yes, there will be moments where sadness would find me again – as part of life – but I’m hoping it would be far and few in between now.

Now, nearly two years later, I am moving out from the epic center. The further away I get,  I hope I’ll get new visions of what my future will be like. That I can sense happiness again. To feel joy. To feel little glimmers of hopes.

Compare to the way it was, this should be enough to keep me going. So I will keep my eyes open and write down those glimpse of moments of hopes, of joys throughout this year. Let’s see how many posies  I can make by the end of this year.

I submitted this post to Shell’s famous Pour Your Heart Out because well these are the things that I can’t really say until I decided to throw it out there.

Why Men Need To Cheat – My Response

I was going to post a whole different post until I read the Huffington Post article Why Men Need To Cheat.

Reading it made me cringe, made me want to look away but I can’t. The words slapped me hard and I asked my best friend the inevitable question “Is there any hope left?

After reading what Eric Anderson, an American sociologist at England’s University of Winchester has to said after his studied 120 undergraduate men and found out 78% of them had cheated in the past. First of all, I’m no scientist or expert but really? Only 120 men and that are strong enough ‘evidence’ to make the headline that Men Need To Cheat? How many of these undergraduate men are married with children? Not much I bet.

Here’s what bothers me the most about the interview with Dr. Anderson:

Humans are largely lousy at controlling our bodies’ desires. We say we don’t want to eat that Snickers bar, but we also really do want to eat it. We eat it, we feel guilty about it, and afterwards we promise ourselves not to eat one again; but we nonetheless do. It is this same phenomenon, only with cheating, that I explore.

First of all comparing cheating to Snickers bar is beyond me! It’s called moral or self control? Conscience? Cheating requires a lot of strategically crafted plans unless of course it’s a one night stand. How different are we human than animals then if we can’t even control ourselves? Or it’s just too obvious that man’s primal instinct is to have sex with whoever they want to?

There are good reasons to lie; it is an essential skill for keeping community and relationship peace. The reason men lie about cheating is mostly because they know that if they ask for permission to have recreational sex: 1) they will be denied 2) after they are denied, they will be subject to scrutiny and increased relationship policing; 3) they will be stigmatized as immoral, and most likely broken up with. Thus, honesty doesn’t meet their desires of having both a long-term partner and recreational sex with others.

Be a man and owned it. If you want to fool around all the time or can’t control the desires to have mind blowing wild sex somewhere else then leave or better yet do not get marry! Save the lie to other women, not to your spouse. It’s disgusting and what hurts the most is actually not so much as the affairs/cheating but the lying, the sneaking around, the double lives these guys acted, pretending to be the devoted husbands, the twisting of facts to clouds their spouse’s judgments so she seems to be hallucinating. The broken vows and commitment. That what hurts the most! Coming clean will make the spouse angry of course, its human nature. When everything that you thought you believe turned out to be filled with lies, it will hurt damn much! But once the panic, the anger subside we would want to know the truth and by coming clean the relationship may have a chance to be salvage. Let’s not even talk about the prospect of bringing some ‘gifts’ home after these sexual adventures? Hello STDs and HIV?! Infidelities hurts a whole damn much and even I still have to fights the demons of what infidelities caused me.

Rather than marrying 20 times or more in one’s life via serial monogamy, we can keep one emotional lover and just have casual, meaningless — and hot — sex with strangers. This gives us the long-term emotional stability we desire psychologically, alongside the hot, carnal sex we desire somatically. It makes much more sense than lying and cheating , or the difficulty of breaking up with a loved one simply because you want someone else’s body for an hour.

WOW. Here are some ideas…don’t get married ever and please please please do not procreate.

Very sad article that is trying to say we are no higher than animals. Even SOME animals are monogamous. Justifying cheating? Maybe, but I really think if you can’t stay committed then don’t fool yourself and your future spouse and safe the heartaches of divorce. Stay single and party till you drop, dude!

This article leaves such a bad taste in my mouth. I’m going to go gargle with some soap water now!

Do you think that all men are ‘programmed’ to cheat regardless? 

Image Source: motifake.com via Maureen on Pinterest

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