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Letting Ourselves be Loved
I sent a text to my sweet boyfriend this morning. I hate calling him my boyfriend, by the way. It feels nothing like having a boyfriend to have him in my life. No matter, I sent this text:
“These are the days that seem so long and I can’t wait till we are back together again. Thank you for loving me so well.”
And he replied simply, “Thank you for letting me”
That exchange was perfect. I could not have wanted for a better response. And, yes, today, I am a little needy. I have been building up for a last court date for the financial settlement with my long-over divorce. My 17 year-old is 17…so we don’t see eye to eye all the time. And I am in a really vulnerable spot with her, as her temperament is so much like her father’s. I love her with everything I have, but it hurts a lot and often.
For some of us, it is easy to love. We come at life, full of love. We want to love people. We want to trust people. We want to see people be happy. It is our default to love. And its when we trust the wrong people with the wrong parts of us that we are hurt. That happens a lot for me.
I did not grow up placing value on my own happiness. It was an innate part of me. I did not work to be happy. I did, however, value other people’s happiness-probably because I noticed that I could be a positive influence there. I was…