I’ve been silent lately.

Not sure how to proceed with things, what to say, what to keep to myself. I remind myself, a personal mantra, that I have a right to keep things to myself until I am ready to let them go into the world. I have the right to my silences. I have the right to sit in contemplation. I have the right to make space my own.

The month’s theme seems to be creating my own space.  I have been working towards the internal and external aspects of making my life my OWN. I have been examining my clutter – physical objects, emotional baggage, social expectations, mental patterns, spiritual concepts – and trying to let go of the things that are holding me back from a more authentic life. It has been about taking stock and making plans and examining dreams and revising what the worldspace I have created for myself.

My life is about making ME happy. For years and years and years I have been led to believe that it was selfish of me to live my life to make me happy. No, I was put on this earth to serve a PURPOSE. That PURPOSE was intimately related to this amorphous god-type being in the sky. The messages I got were that I was to grow up to complete school, get a husband, have kids, be a housewife, mother, keep a house, cook, clean… and likely work full time outside of the house on top of it all. I was to give up the “foolish” things that I loved that wouldn’t fit into the world I was being told to want — I was supposed to WANT a man who could “take care of me”, 2 kids, to spend all day being someone’s assistant and all night taking care of my family… I wasn’t supposed to work on MYSELF because the message that I got was that I wasn’t as important as the roles I was to play.

I WAS MISERABLE.

And I don’t want to be that way anymore.

Yes, the roles I play are important, but they aren’t more important than me being HAPPY. It is important to be a good parent, but can a miserably unhappy or tuned out parent be a truly GOOD parent? Yes, its great to be a good employee, but how productive am I when I am unhappy at work? What kind of friend am I if I am depressed or stressed or worried or if I simply do not know how I feel about things?

I am still unpacking the contents of my soul, looking at the things that make me happy.  It’s a personal process, not really one that is easily shared. I pull something out… examine it, try it on for size, adjust it, and move around looking at how it fits me – not only the ME I am now but the ME I am becoming the ME I want to become – and I don’t really WANT to be influenced by another’s perception of what is right for ME no matter how much they care about me.  It’s been slow going mostly because I haven’t had enough pieces of time to spend alone – sometimes I have the kids, sometimes I have social obligations, sometimes I have family obligations, sometimes friends want time, sometimes I don’t feel ready – and so I have been putting things off.

And so I am going through the focus on me, rather than focusing on what makes someone else (whether that someone else is theEx, the kids, a friend, a man, family, work… ) happy.

It’s hard to go against my internal grain, though and it has been a process of one step forward and 2 steps back.

In January I decided to make changes and live for myself.  I had made a huge, TERRIFYING, set of leaps to change my life. I paid off debt and got a mortgage for my own home.  At the same time I became single, which also helped me focus more on my finances (I no longer hosted extra people in my home every weekend, I no longer had to make long distance phone calls, I no longer had to have a fancy cable package, I no longer bought movies). I took the opportunity to try and change some of the situation that had made me miserable, I started deciding how to make my life the way I wanted, not the way someone else wanted for me.

I’m sticking to it. Even with things changing (aren’t they always?) I am standing firm on making my life and my home MINE… its an affirmation of what I want, and my promise to myself to discover what it is that I want for me.  

It’s NOT selfish to make your life YOURS… and to follow your dreams.

I’m sitting in my office, listening to the rain pelt the windows and wondering if anything is likely to seep through the crack in the window.  The day is grey and wet and slightly foggy, leaving a chilly mist wafting through the office whenever someone opens the door. There are piles of paperwork on my desk, and the ubiquitous sticky notes all over the monitor and my day timer reminding me of the ways I’m being pulled in different directions trying to get things done.

I’m waiting for the weekend… waiting to get out of the monotony of paperwork and stress and being questioned about the most minute details..

Weekends are my days to do chores, if I can get the time to do them. The problem has been GETTING THEM!  Because theEx likes to play stupid little games and fucks around with the custody schedule to suit his needs, I haven’t gotten many weekends without the kids:

• March 6-19 the kids were with me (2 weeks)
• March 19-26 the kids were with him (1 week)
• March 26-April 2 the kids were with me (1 week)
• April 2-9 the kids were with him (1 week)

And it doesn’t end there:

• April 9-24^th (because he has a business trip that takes him out of town until the 22^nd and he wants to have social time with the new girlfriend, he’s picking the kids up late)the kids are with ME ( 2 weeks +1 day so I have HALF a weekend)
• April 23-April 30 the kids are with him (1 week)
• May 1-May 14 the kids are with me… and the schedule goes back to normal

Until or unless he fucks around with it some more…  

Anyway, the point is that I haven’t had 2 weekends in a row to get things done since I moved into my house. Even the weekends that I haven’t had them has been taken up with other obligations that pull me away from spending time on my ME things. I find myself feeling anxious to get started things, but since I don’t have consistent time after work to pull things out and get started before I have to put things away again… well… I have found myself making a list of promises to myself that have to wait until I don’t have the kids. It will be at LEAST 4 weeks before I get an entire weekend without the kids. 

• I want to spread out the art supplies and do some art journaling.
• I want to paint the kitchen
• I want to paint MY room
• I want to paint the bathroom
• I want to decorate my room
• I want to go on a trip to Ontario
• I want to make bread
• I want to set up a bunch of OAMC recipes
• I want to clean out my car
• I want to reorganize my pantry
• I want to declutter and organize my basement and make it into a good play/family area
• I need to spend a weekend dragging things to be donated
• I need to spend a weekend looking for components to decorate with

Things I don’t see working WELL with the kids in tow.  I mean, they would LOVE to help paint the rooms, but it would be a giant disaster. They would like to go to Ontario again, but I want to get some stuff done out there that is not easy to do with tired kids in tow (and I want at least ONE night in my year to celebrate my freedom from their father… if I EVER FREAKING GET DIVORCED!!!).  Cleaning and reorganizing isn’t generally something they like to do, and tend to undo as fast as I can do it (by bringing dirt and junk in from outside).

Sometimes I just want a few hours in the MIDDLE of the day to myself. Yes, I get evenings after I put them to bed to do things, but I’m frazzled by then and I am not as productive.  And generally those hours are filled by cleaning up after supper dishes , sweeping the floors, rinsing out the bathroom sink, and washing clothes.

Lately I have been wanting time ALONE. I have been wanting to spend some quality time CREATING things FOR myself, by myself. I feel odd saying it. Sometimes I like having company, sometimes I miss my kids. Sometimes I need to be social and get out and be inspired.  But other times, especially lately, I kinda want to CREATE an not worry about entertaining someone else for a while. I find myself wanting to think my own thoughts without having to justify my own personal choices to anyone (no matter how much they care about me).

I want to create a personal space in my bedroom, with a small creating table and a small comfortable chair. I want a small creative space (a shelving unit to put my journals and craft supplies for easy access) to do my journaling and scrapbooking and art journaling and writing. I want a ladder bookshelf that leans against the wall where I can put books and beautiful objects. I want a DRESSER with a mirror so I can put on makeup when I want to. I want shelves on my walls to put pretties. I want to create an altar.

I need time to sit and contemplate my space and my needs without having to consider the needs of anyone that isn’t ME. That means letting go of the expectations of others. It means creating a zone that is only me. Creating a sanctuary. Creating a space that feeds MY spirit. And not having to share that with ANYONE. It means being able to take as much time as I want to get things right, without being rushed by anyone else. It means accepting that NO ONE ELSE MATTERS there…

I am feeling the desire to create, the urge to make my space my OWN, but not sure how to go about doing that.

I just know that it’s a pressure, a NEED…

I’m sitting at work listening to the howl of the wind as my province falls into yet another late winter storm pounds the wall and window beside me. I can feel the draught from under the door and the cracks in the window. It’s freezing here (0C) and it’s hard to believe that just yesterday it was +18C (although with the ever present wind)… we’ve been promised or threatened with up to 20cm of snow… and from the chill and the sound of the wind it’s not unlikely either.

This week has been a total mish-mash of ups and downs and weirdness and unexpected twists and turns…

The bad Stuff

NO ME TIME.

Seriously, I felt like I was booked all week with things. While I generally LIKE to keep busy on the weeks I don’t have the kids, I was also really hoping to have a portion of time to myself this week to get a bunch of cleaning, organizing and unpacking done around the house. Unfortunately with the Easter break messing with the joint custody schedule, the last month I have not had more than 1 weekend at a time without the kids (instead of 2 weekends)… and every weekend they are with ME I have been chauffeuring them to various social obligations.

This week I was booked and most days I didn’t get home until 9pm… so a lot of the cleaning and things that I wanted to do didn’t get done, and I have the kids for the next 2 weekends (and then I only get HALF a weekend when they go to their dad’s LATE for a 1 week “visit”) so some of those things will have to wait for a bit longer.

Don’t get me WRONG, I prefer to have my kids with me… but there are just some things that are easier to do without having to worry about having the kids underfoot. I am hoping, though, that we can get the basement In some sort of order over these 2 weeks so that we can use it as a craft/family area and not just a clutter catcher J.

Weather

Today we are having a “late season” storm. I wish I could easily convey the noise of the wind smashing its fury against the wall and window of my office. I wish I could explain the sleet pelting against the windows, the feeling of being yanked and buffeted about by the wind.

Suffice it to say, things are a bit out of sorts here. I am at work, desperately wishing to get the LAST piece of information I need so I that I can pack up and retreat home before the highway between my work and my home are officially closed. I have spent the day listening to the fury outside and dealing with out-of-sorts engineers and construction workers who have been unexpectedly trapped in our city for the weekend because the highways THEY need to travel ARE closed.

I just want to go home and not have to worry about the anger of the late season storm right now.

Wanting a break

The last few weeks I have just been wanting to get away from it all… but since I moved I have barely had a day to myself to get done what I need to do! So I have been trying to figure out when I can get away and visit Sunil out in the no-so-wilds of Toronto again… I needs me some BIG books.

Things I am not sure how to respond to

The Noodle

Earlier this week I was contacted by the Noodle via FaceBook message. I was shocked that he would bother to contact me at all, given that we haven’t really talked much more than 3 or 4 text messages passed back and forth after I moved (because he still had a set of my keys for the old place).  I had the impression that he had really not been all that interested in me as a date OR a person.

He pointed out that he had visited my blog (which I knew he knew about) and that I had seemed very much more BITTER than I had led him to believe, which had lead him to believe that either I hated him or that I was a very angry and bitter woman.

While I felt disturbed by the way things went, and how much I tried to make this work with him, I took away from it not anger or resentment but what I could have done differently and also what I learned about MYSELF and what I wanted in not only a relationship, but out of my life.

But his feelings are his feelings. He felt that I was bitter. I felt that I had misread a situation and that I should have done better. He felt I was angry. I felt hurt that I misunderstood what we had to be a real relationship when he felt it was casual– and the interpretation of the term that way really hurt my heart.

I was not sure, given the wording of the message, what he was asking for (or had wanted to ask for), but I asked if he would want to go out for “coffee” sometime. I had appreciated the part he had played in my life, and what lessons I learned about who I was and what I wanted… and thanked him for that.

I’m not sure what to think about the situation. In the intervening 2 months since we dissolved our association with each other I have realized how I should have been more forthright and upfront about what I wanted, even when I changed my mind, and clear about my own boundaries.

My response stated all I wanted to say about the ending and my self-recrimination for how things went. It was a catalyst to further understanding of my patterns and what I really want, and that isn’t a bad thing, whether this finalizes any contact we ever have or not.

The good…

(Because I am hoping to sneak away early today for safety reasons, I better make this pretty brief)

In no particular order:

Started an art journal online workshop thing with DirtyFootprints Studio. I have wanted to do this sorta thing for a LONG time, and so when this came up I felt the desire to JUMP and start. I haven’t had a lot of time, yet, to do this stuff… but its not a time sensitive type thing so I am not gonna stress. So far I have only managed to glop colour and gel medium onto 1 page… but I have lots of time yet.

My own HOME! Yes, a LOT of the rooms are still “builder beige” and I really detest that colour, but I am slowly making the space my own. I have So many ideas, just not sure how to get them done. I have started to realize that I need some power tools and some basic know-how… but I don’t have to ask permission and I can do what I need to do to make this place MINE. I can’t express how HAPPY I am as I  walk through my house at night, to realize that this is all MINE and its okay if I change things.

Secret vegetarianism. The weeks that I do not have the kids, I have found that more often than not I eat a mostly vegetarian diet. I am loving cooking things that are less reliant on meats and more flavour based… and I’m looking into going more either vegetarian and cutting down on meats.

My kids will be home in a few minutes, so I am gonna post this and go…

Have a great weekened everyone

Last week I suffered a disappointment.

Not in something that I wanted. But in my identity as a mother…

My son has been lying to me (in particular) about his homework. Yes, he has been lying to his father as well, but the fact of the matter is that he has been telling me every day for MONTHS that he has had “no homework” when, in fact he has been steadily getting farther and farther behind in his work.

Now, because the teachers have decided to allow the children to take “ownership” of their workload, my son has been coasting along without any adult intervention in this. Not once has the teacher or school indicated, to myself (or presumably to theEx) that my son was failing to complete homework or seek any indication of problems. What they did do was make some pretty strong assumptions about the situation, instead:

1. They assumed that BoyChild was incapable of being able to do the work they are assigning to him. This was decided because they have decided that he has some pretty “severe” social issues (ie, they feel he’s at risk to be ostracized by peers and therefore more likely to fail, do drugs, and/or become suicidal)
2. All his issues are being chalked up to his social issues (which, as far as I can determine, are related to the fact that he talks too much to other kids, tries too hard to fit in, and isn’t entirely able to control his emotions and sometimes gets visibly upset and weepy/angry) which they are “working on” but have yet to give any idea of what can be done at home to reinforce these practices
3. That because we are getting divorced the issues are not present in our minds, as parents, so there is no reason to be bringing it to our attention. While that might very well be an issue with theEx (who is being nothing but a douchebag to me) I have done everything I can to put my children FIRST in this situation – I have set up counseling for both of them, I have tried to give them opportunities to make friends and do things that encourage them to feel proud of themselves, sought ways to help, bought them a computer, read with them, write with them, create with them, and I spend my time WITH them instead of leaving them with someone else almost every night to do my own thing —  But I am seen as the “bad” parent here????
4. The teachers have decided that either BoyChild doesn’t care, isn’t able to do it, or that we don’t care to help him do the work. And most especially, that I am either unwilling or incapable of being a good enough parent to help my child.

What pisses ME off is that when I go to these interviews I am not taken seriously by the teachers. The last few interviews I have gone to theEx has been in tow, and when he’s there my son’s teachers defer to him (ooh… big strong ENGINEER with PROFESSIONAL credentials, he can’t do ANYTHING wrong) when I am the parent making all the effort to stay in touch with the teachers – calling on my lunch breaks, dropping everything to take calls and drive into the city to pick them up, emailing when things seem wrong, making the time to go in for their events and activities, making the baked goods for sales, REGISTERING them for school, buying supplies, and making appointments for interviews – and he’s the one that everyone thinks is a “good parent”?

It hurts… a lot. I am a way better parent than theEx, and I have been the parent that has been there for the kids since CONCEPTION, whereas he’s only really been putting in the minimal effort for 2 years since I left! I have ALWAYS been the one to be there for them, despite what has been going on in my life.

So let’s compare the parents of these children:

Myself:

• Work full time
• Have vehicle of my own
• Pay all my bills on time and most of them in full
• Have a plan to get out of debt
• Have a  home of my own
• I actively participate in activities with my kids
• I volunteer in the community
• I have decided to  stop dating in order to focus more on myself and my children
• I actively engage my children in MY life
• Take responsibility for my finances

My Ex Husband:

• Works full time
• Has vehicle of his own
• Pays bills on time
• Complains of enormous amounts of debt (including credit cards and living in his chequing overdraft)
• Has no plan to get out of debt
• Is willing to do no more than drop the kids off and pick them up from activities
• Spends every Friday and Saturday nights out dating,
• Leaves kids with his mother 2 or 3 nights per week
• Refuses to allow kids to participate in sports/activities that require parental involvement
• Wants to withdraw the kids from activities that they enjoy because it interferes with his plans  (ie Scouts,  dance) even when they are showing real self confidence in these activities
• Does not take responsibility for debt/spending issues

I’m not saying that I am a perfect parent, but I am saying that I freaking TRY. I don’t throw money at the kids or buy them video games or movies to shut them up, preferring to learn what they like and how we can do things TOGETHER. I can’t afford all the fancy things that theEx is willing to go into debt for – in car entertainment systems, 25 video games, dozens of pairs of shoes – but I give what I can, my attention, my love, my dedication, my TIME.

Yes, I make mistakes. I care too much, I might push too hard, I might want to fix things too desperately. I do everything in my power to be there for my kids.

And I fail.

I fail a lot.

My son won’t talk to me. He keeps secrets from me, things that hurt him, because he sees me as someone who will make him do things he doesn’t want to do (homework, chores, play with his sister) or who can’t give him what he wants (to find a new babysitter, spend more time with them on their days off, more electronic toys)… and that’s a continuing issue because its obviously a failure on my part to parent correctly if my children can’t trust me to help them fix things that are going wrong in their lives.

As I see it I have three options:

1. I can continue doing things the way I have been doing, even though they haven’t been working all that well.
2. I can give up on my kids and walk away from the whole mess, as obviously this is going to be a continual fight with theEx, the schools, counselors, lawyers and judges, and other parents to prove that despite my lack of stupid iron pinky ring, fancy job title, and extra stupid letters after my name (I have 7 letters after my name, he has 8), that I am not only AS GOOD of a parent as theEx, but that for the most part I am the one that does the parenting. Obviously his mother is a good enough substitute for a mother, and if the kids don’t like being with me why fight anymore?
3. I can change the way I do things, and keep changing, until I find a way that works for me and my kids – AND NOT WORRY about what works for theEx, the teachers, the school or anyone else because in the end they don’t live our lives and what they want should NOT interfere with our lives as a family.

The choice is obvious (to me)… since I’m not the kind of person to continually do the same thing and hope for different results (I’m not INSANE), and I’ve fought this long and hard to keep my children in my life no matter WHAT other people say, I need to change the way I do things until we get results that work for US. 

I am working on changing and because of this my mantra (of sorts has become):

Change is slow, but it is happening. If I fail to live up to my desired changes today, I will do better tomorrow. Nothing is set in stone. I can do better tomorrow.

I am working on this process, it is a process of letting go – I am letting go of the external locus of control of my life that, up until very recently, was held by theEx. I am letting go of the idea that everyone else knows what is “right” for everyone and that includes the school system, teachers, and counselors – whether they will accept it or not, they are not experts on my family, my ways, or my children, and I will no longer defer to their wishes over the wishes of myself and my children. Even theEx is only able to exert limited control over the running of my home and life, and a lot of that is only when I ALLOW him to do so.

I am tired of letting other people tell me that I am not good enough. I am tired of people comparing me to my ex only on the things that he can buy and earnings, without knowing the whole story. I’m tired of being judged by teachers, school administration, counselors, and others based on their PERCEPTION of what they THINK they know about the situation of our divorce – and based only on what theEx feels is the “TRUTH” because I have not felt it is ANY of these people’s business what happened to cause me to leave my husband. I am tired of having to explain to people why I do NOT feel comfortable having theEx at every meeting. I am tired of having to defend my right to talk to people on my OWN merit, as the children’s MOTHER rather than as a co-freaking-parent. I shouldn’t have to have a permission slip to seek medical attention or to talk to the teacher or principal if I think there is an issue.

I will no longer allow people to make me feel like a terrible mother just because that is what theEx tells them – I feed, clothe, shelter, educate, entertain, soothe, love, and nurture my children well beyond minimal requirements. I will not longer allow outsiders to make me (or my children) feel inadequate because maybe we are DIFFERENT.

I am no longer seeking the opinions of anyone else on how I OR MY CHILDREN are doing as human beings. I am no longer willing to offer opinion on how any OTHER people are doing. I am accepting that we are ALL struggling with something, we are all in the process of becoming, we are all deserve to be given the benefit of the doubt,  we all deserve to be given second chances, WE ALL DESERVE TO BE BELIEVED IN no matter what has kept us from achieving our all in the past.