Luck has Nothing To Do With It

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. (Well, my US readers anyway) My mother came to visit me. Also my uncle (my mom's brother) and his wife came too. My mother was here about a week. My aunt and uncle were here for 2 days.

The morning my uncle was leaving for home, I met them breakfast with my mother. The topic of my relationship with K, AJ and the kids. Granted it is unusual. Its not every gay man who is welcome in his ex-wife's house all the time. AJ commented on it again when I showed up there on the morning and he made me a cup of coffee. He mentioned how strange it was for a man to by making coffee for his wife's ex-husband.

Over and over I have said it. It's fucked up, but it works.

My aunt & uncle and my mother kept telling me that I had done a great job. That my relationship with the kids seemed excellent. My relationship with their mother was very good too. My uncle mentioned at one point that I was lucky things were so harmonious. I agreed to a point. I as luck that K was not hostile, like many ex-wives can be.

The more I thought about it, it really had nothing to do with luck at all. I worked my ass off over 6 years to get these relationships where they are. It took a lot of work and a lot of sacrifice.

My uncle does not know I have a blog so he has not followed my struggle over the past several years. He does not know how I stressed about making the divorce as painless for K and kids as I could.

He does not see the countless hours I spend at K's house with the kids to keep the relationship with my kids as good as it can be. The do not call AJ "dad" because I am there all the time. I still give my daughter a hug most nights before she goes to sleep. On the mornings when K is working over night at the hospital, I get up early so I can wake my daughter up and get her ready for school.

I have sacrificed a lot of time that I should have used for myself. I could have been building relationship with other people. Maybe I would have had more time to find a boyfriend. Or just spend more time with the few friends I have. It just might have been more fun.

But I choose a different path. Even though I am out of the closet, I still live the life of a family man. Nothing is free. I have a great relationship with my kids, but I am lonely as hell the rest of the time.

The Chef tells me I need to spend more time for myself. He says I am not getting any younger. He says that my kids will always be my kids and I don't need to worry about them as much as I do. He says that no matter what I do, the kids will not drift away from me. I am not sure I want to take that chance.

Stuck

I can't decide with metaphor to use.  Stuck in a rut or stuck in the spin cycle.  Either way I feel like I am stuck.  I am not doing much beside working, hanging out with my kids, and sleeping.  I am not making much progress on my search for love.

I want to write about it more often.  I need to get back to that.

T and I are still in contact.  We talk once or twice a week and text daily.  We have worked ourselves into a good place... at least as it relates to each other.   He has been working a lot so it has been difficult for me to see him in person.

I have not been actively working my dating profile.   I did hear from a guy in neighboring state.  He seemed like a nice guy.  The more I talked to him, however, the more I got the feeling he was looking to relocate to my city and needed a place to stay.  No thank you.

I also started talking to another guy.  He is a nice guy and while I could be friends with him, he is not someone I want to date.

I have been talking to the Chef.  I had coffee with him the other day and we text most every day.  I am not getting involved with him.  Just talking.  

I spend too much time at K's house with the kids.  I know I do it, but honestly I have nothing better to do with my time.  I figure if I have nothing better to do, I may as well keep working on my relationship with my kids.  I know it's not healthy for me.  I know that I am not getting any younger.  I know I need to do more things for myself.  

I feel like I am so busy.  I feel like I am running and running all the time.  I feel like I don't have time for myself.  I know that I could make it if I wanted to.

But for now, I'm stuck in my rut.

Birthday Depression

Hi. I don’t know if you remember me, I have not really been around much. Part of the reason I have not been writing much, is that I used to write on my computer at home. When I am at K’s house with the kids or someplace else, I usually have my phone or my tablet, but I rarely have the computer. Touch screens are not great for writing, so I have not written much. When the blog started I used to write almost every day. After any while, it seems like a lot has happened and I would need to write a lot to get everyone caught up.

I think it might be time to revive the blog and see what happens.

And yes, today is my birthday.

To get you caught up:

I gave the Chef another chance. There was a part of him I really liked and he was interested in me (which in itself is attractive) so I tried to see if we could make a go of it. It was going pretty good most of the time.

I took a trip with the kids in August to back to where I grew up. We spend a five days in the woods and off the grid. We had campfire, a lake, kayaks and fishing. We all loved it and had a great time. The we spent some time with K’s family. That was OK too. Kids had some cousin time and I chilled out. My in-laws are nice to me even though I am no longer married to their daughter.

Ten days after returning from vacation, I had to take an 11 day trip to England for work. It was short notice and a lot trip. Some friend took we into the London to see the tourist sights in the day time. By night we went to the gay bars in Soho. That was a lot of fun, though I would not want to do that all the time. That evening is worthy of a separate blog entry of it’s own.

While I was in England the Chef felt neglected. He felt like I was being selfish for not staying in touch with him enough. He said a lot of other nasty stuff and at that point I was done with him. We fought and broke up forever over text message while I was 3,500 miles away. I really felt he burned the bridge so badly, I was not even interested in being his friend anymore.

I met a guy 2 weeks ago on Match.com. We actually had 3 dates, but I think that is as far as we will go. He was nice and really easy to talk to. After the 3rd date, this past Monday, He has kind of gone silent. I reached out a with some test messages, and got one or two word replies. Yeah, I can take a hint.

All the time I have been keeping up with T. While I still love him the same, I no longer have the longing for him that I had for so long. I would still love to be with him again, but I have accepted that it is not to be.

Which brings me to today. I turn 46 today and I am not really in the mood to be celebrating. In fact the whole thing is pretty depressing. Yes, I have and good job and great kids and I'm grateful for that. I really am. But at the same time I hate being alone. I hate there is no one who cares for me and no one I can care for.

Its wearing on me and I don't like it.

Love, Vision and Walking The Path

(Author's note:  When I started this I had a clear idea of what I wanted to say, but then it turned in more of a stream of consciousness.  Bear with me...)

T is starting to actually meet a few people he has met online in the real world.  So far he has not made a connection with any of them for various reasons.  He continues to look.

I have refreshed my profile on Match.com and some people are looking at it.  No one has written yet, but I have not taken any affirmative steps either.  Well, I did write to this one guy I was supposed to meet 2 years ago when T and I briefly broke up.  He did write back and I am supposed to meet him tonight.  He seems nice and we will see how it goes.  I don't really have high hopes.  

This is hard and a pain in the ass on a good day.  But something has been making it much harder for me.

I cannot help but think it's very hard to look at dating others, when you already know who your true love is.

I believe in true love.  I believe there is someone for everyone.  I believe in soul mates.  I think that I know who my true love is.  I know the person I supposed to be with.  So why am I talking to other people?

Yes, this is my heart talking.  While my brain "clicked" last week and said it was ready to move on, my heart has given my brain a big "fuck you!!"

On a separate but related topic:

A guy from my fraternity got married yesterday.  He is not someone I know well, but as many of the fraternity guys, we are all friends on Facebook.  His wedding appeared to be a large affair.  Many of his friends starting posting pictures of it last night.

This guy is a young good looking guy.  His partner (now husband) is a little older but not a lot.  He just finished law school and he is already a very busy attorney.  He goes out a lot.  He has a lot of friends and a man who ardors him.  They go on vacations together and do all kinds of things together.  He kind has the life I want (except he has no kids...yet).

But as I was looking at the pictures on Facebook I kept thinking the same thing over and over.

What good is doing all the stuff I say I want to do, if I cannot share it my the man I love?  I have (or used to have) a man who fulls my heart with love.  Even now, I cannot picture a future for myself where he is not with me.

How are these things related?  If I have a true love, maybe I can (and should) alter my vision of my future.  T is a workaholic, but he will not work forever.  He will eventually retire and have a lot of time on his hands.  He is not one of these guys who will be working as a doctor into his old age.  He has a plan to retire long before then.  Oddly enough, it will be about the time my daughter is off to college.  He will have extra time and so will I.  I won't be able to retire then, but that's okay.

The other thing I thought of, is time.  One thing the Chef showed me is what it would be like to be with someone with a LOT of extra time on his hands.  The Chef has one child who is grown and moved away.  He looks after his mother, but she is largely self sufficient despite her advanced age.  So the Chef, has a lot of time on his hands.  Once he finishes work, there is not much more for him to do.  

The Chef liked seeing me, and was often frustrated by my lack of time for him.  I was always doing something, usually with the kids.  Not that we didn't get to see each other, but it was not enough for his liking.  Today we are friends, nothing more.  I think he might like more, but I really am not interested in anything beyond friendship with him.  

As I re-enter this online dating thing, I worry I will meet someone I like and get attached, only to have him leave because I do not have enough time for him.  That was never an issue with T.

My life with T was not perfect.  There was a lot about it that did not fit into the vision I had for myself.  But maybe I am putting the cart before the horse.  Maybe I need to scrap that vision and look at what is in front of me.  Maybe I need a new vision.  Maybe I need to develop that vision WITH someone else rather then expecting someone to conform to my vision.  A couple in love develops a vision together, but the love comes first.  

Love first, vision (developed together) comes later.  

This is where I went wrong with T.  I tried to shoehorn him into my vision of what I wanted in my life.  Rather than us developing a shared vision of the future together, I tried to convince him my vision was better.  I tried to convince him he would be happy in my vision and I did not consider his vision (or at least not enough).  So rather than cooperating on our SHARED vision, I continued to bang my head against the wall with frustration when he did not conform to mine.  I was a fool.

Maybe if we had walked a shared path together, rather than me trying to pull him down my path, I would not have been so frustrated.  

We both would have been happier.

Maybe we would still be together...

...and we could have found our happiness together.

You Are Doing It Again

About 25 years ago, I was dating this girl. We dated for about a year and a half and I asked her to marry me. She said yes. We were both still in college at the time. It was over Christmas break. She was graduating in May. I had one more year to go. (I was pursuing a double major and was going to take an extra year.) Over the summer we picked a date, told our parents and started to make plans.

By the end of the summer she had gotten a job and I was heading back to school. A couple of months into the semester and stress was starting to show. I did not see it at the time, but in hindsight, the signs were there. At the end of October she went to a costume party at the home of someone she worked with. Many of her work friends would be there too. She did not invite me, but I could not have gone anyway. I did not have a car on campus so I was stuck there.

The next day she we were talking on the phone and she sounded different. I asked her about it and she told me at the party, she had hooked up with another guy. She said they just kissed, but I never really believed that. She broke up with me there on the phone.

I was devastated. Totally did not see that coming. I simply could not imagine that was happening to me. I tried (and failed) to save the relationship. She agreed we could remain friends and that made me feel better. I did not realize at the time that was just something people say. Most people don't really mean it.

It was hard to keep in contact with her but her job was a manager of a large store in my town. I would see her in there sometimes and we would chat. Sometime she would tell me she was busy and shoo me away.

The last time I saw her she was not happy to see me at all. She yelled at me in the store. She told me to leave and she didn't want to see me anymore. She was very angry.

I shouted something back at her and stormed out of the store. I was furious, but something clicked in my brain. I knew I was never going to see her again. I no longer wanted to see her. Any happy thoughts I had about her were gone. And to this day, I do not think about her with any sort of fondness (if I think about her at all). I am no longer angry but there is a complete indifference to her memory. I really do not care what happened to her after the moment I walked out of that store and I still feel that way.

The reason I am telling this story is not about her, or about how I feel about her. This was a true story and she is NOT a metaphor for T, the Chef or anyone else.

The reason for the story is the click in my brain. The epiphany I had that cleared my mind.

That happened to me again yesterday.

I have been talking to T a lot over the past couple of week. I love him desperately and I always will. (As if you didn't already know.) I want to be with him and at this moment I do not care about the other difficulties or frustrations we had. I feel so perfectly happy and safe and loved when I am in his arms and I miss that feeling with all my heart.



When we talk, he talks to me like a close friend. Like a family member. I know he loves me. He wants me to live my dreams and be happy. After the pain I put him through when we broke up, I am glad he is still talking to me. I am grateful he still cares about me and is willing to maintain a close friendship. I know he means that in his heart and its not just something he said.

Lately when I have been talking to him I would occasionally stray into talk about us being together again. About putting things back the way they were. Of course, this is not possible for many reasons. It has been eleven months since the break up and he does not want to get back together with me. He has healed the wound I caused and he has no interest in reopening it. Even if he did, he would forever be wondering when I would become frustrated and dump him again. So when I stray into that kind of talk, he would gently say, "Jim, you are doing it again."

But like a stale gag on a "Simpsons" episode I did not immediately take the hint. It would put me off for a couple of hours, maybe a day, but then I would be right back at him. He would say something nice and I would use it as an opportunity to get back into the crazy talk.

Last night was the last time. "Jim, you're doing it again."

Brain click.

Epiphany.



I knew what he meant. At that moment any hope I had of T and I ever getting back together, evaporated. He would never be my boyfriend, or my partner. No matter how much I wanted it. It was never going to happen.

Click.

He was not like that girl from so many years ago. He was not mean or angry about it. He was not abrupt. He was gentle and loving because he knew I was hurting. He knew that I was having a heart ache like I had not felt before, but he also knew he was right.

Deep down..... so did I.



I don't know what exactly I am going to do next. I think I need to take some time to find myself. I have been too long with my head up my ass and I need to get it out. I need to figure out what I want for me and then figure out how to get it.

I suppose that is the direction the blog will take for a while. Anyone who wants to come along for the ride is welcome.

-----------------------------

In other news, the Chef has apologized for the shit he said and wants to meet for coffee tomorrow.

That's a story for another day.

Welcome To Fantasy Island

Eleven months ago when I broke up with T, I was frustrated that he was not living up to my fantasy.  He was not doing the things I wanted him to do.  He was more attached to his family than he was to me and that was hard for me.

He was doing exactly what he said he would do.  What he told be from the beginning he would do.

When I broke up with him I was deeply in love him, as he was with me.  There was a magic between us when we were together and an emptiness when we were apart.  And we were apart much to much for my liking.

I kept hoping that he would live up to my fantasy.  In many ways he did.  In others he did not.

Eleven months later I am still in love with him.  It took me 6 months to even think about looking for someone else to date.  When I met someone, my feeling for him sabotaged that relationship.

 T thinks I was in love with the Chef and my old feelings for him only resurfaced when it seemed that the Chef was not going to work out.  He says I "changed".  I didn't.  It started with the first lie.

I wear this ring all the time.  I never take it off.  Not even to sleep or shower.  The Chef asked me about it.  

"What's that ring you have there?  It's nice.  Does it have any special meaning?" he asked.

"Naw. It's just something I bought online cause I liked it." was my truthful reply.  I did, in fact, buy it online and I do like it.  It was, however, what K would call, "a lie of omission."  

I knew why he was asking the question.  I knew what he wanted to know and I withheld that information.   I failed to mention that I bought not one, but 2 rings.  The second ring T wears on a chain around his neck, at least he used to.  It is not a ring I bought simply to decorate my finger.  I bought it a a symbol and a reminder of a specific love.  I continue to wear it in recognition of that love.  I never took it off the whole time I was seeing the Chef.

That was only the first lie.  There were many others, like these:

Q: You are still friends with your ex?  Do you still love him?
A: Well, I still care about him, but I don't love him anymore.  

Q: How often do you talk to him?
A: Oh... we may exchange text messages a couple times a week.  I might call him once or twice a month.

Q:  What if his situation changed and he wanted you back?  What would you do?
A:  He had his chance with me.  He could not get shit together so I am not really interested anymore.

Lies, lies, lies.

I am generally not a good liar.  I am very transparent to people who know me well.  K can spot it in 3 seconds and I am sure T would catch it just as fast.  But the Chef did not know me that well so he never knew the difference.  Except he did.  He knew deep down that even though he was into me, I was distracted.  

I know I am starting to ramble a little (it's 12:45am) but the reason I am telling this is say I know that I am the cause of my own pain and frustration.  T was honest and open.  I let my fantasy get away with me and I was upset that he did not come along on my crazy train.  Given it to do over again, I would not have broken up with him last year.  I would have remembered that our love together made the frustration worth it.

I also wanted to get out that my love for T has not changed over the past months.

There is something else.  I am kind of getting used to being alone.  I am not over powered by loneliness like I was before.  I still get lonely, and I wish for T to be with me more, but I am not in the same place I was before.  I think the 6 month I was alone before I started looking to date, probably did me some good.

All that said, T and I will not be getting back together for the simple fact that he is over me.  It took him a while, but he has come to accept we will not be together.  Once he reaches acceptance, he will not go back.

I know he loves me a lot.  I know we will always be close.  But I don't think he is "in love" with me anymore.  I think his heart is open for someone else at this point and he would not let me back in.  He would be too scared I would leave again.

I can't say I blame him.

Okay, I Heard You...

The readers have spoken. Everyone is agreed. I need to take a break from T. I need to forget about him. I need to realize that he and are are not meant for each other and be done with it. Maybe in a couple of years we can be friends, but right now I need to cut him out of my life so I can more easily get over him and focus on myself. Only then can I open my heart to someone else.

It is the obvious course of action. It is the easiest in terms of stress and pain. It will be the fastest route for me getting over him.

I don't care. I'm not going to do it.

Read back a couple of years of my blog and you will see something similar. My three year, slow motion divorce from K is all documented. Read the comments from back then. You will see there were a bunch of people advocating the Band-Aid approach. Rip it off quickly, endure the sharp pain and then it will be okay after that. Some wanted me to leave my house and get an apartment on my own. They said it was better or me and better for K and the kids. They said it would speed the healing process.

Take quick, decisive action. Just GO!!

I did not listen to them either. I prolonged the agony. I stuck with K a very long time. In many regards, I am still with her today. It has not always been easy. It was VERY painful a few years ago. If I would have taken their advice, I might have saved myself a lot of headache (and heartache).

But look at where I am today. As I write this I am sitting in my ex-wife's kitchen. I just had a very pleasant conversation with her new husband about the politics of the First Amendment. My daughter is playing x-box in the next room. M youngest son is loading the dishwasher. My older boys are off with friends, but I saw them as they were heading out the door. How many gay divorced men can say that? How many have the situation I have? How many have a key to their ex-wives new house, where she lives with her husband? How many gay divorced men are still best friends with their ex-wives? (To the point where I know she tells me things even her best girl friends don't know.)

I got to this point because I made the harder choice to stay, when others would have given up and split. I was more painful for me, and probably for her. (As a side note, by making it harder on me and her, it was MUCH, MUCH easier on the kids.)

I am not going to cut off T because I love him. I am always going to love him. I do not think I would like my life if he were not in it. Even if it was only or a year or two. While it is true he cannot do all the things I need from him as a partner, it does not change the love.



I would be lying if I did not admit that even today I frequently wonder if we could get back together. Maybe I could live with his situation because I love him so much. I remember what being with him is like. I remember how good it felt when he held me but I also how frustrated I felt when I had to drive home late at night, rather than staying the night laying next to him. I also know the pain of being separated from him.

Whether we ever get back together is not the point. The point is I am taking the long view with T. I am willing to prolong the pain for me (and maybe for him) so I can keep him in my life. I am not sure if I cut him out completely now, we would ever come back together a friends year later. We might. We probably would, but I don't know that.

In the meantime, I will probably write about it my struggles. I will probably complain some.

It's my blog and I'll bitch if I want to.

A Total A--hole

As I write this T is on a date. It's good thing for him. He is so busy with his work that he does not get the chance to get out much. Also, because he gets a lot of hits on his profile, he's pretty selective about who he wants to meet.

It is good that he is seeing people. He has moved on from me. Actually he has moved on better than I have. I don't know if he will have any better luck with a new person, since his family situation has not changed he may run into the same issue. (It's because he is so adorable, that any new guy will fall for him as hard as I did.)

I have met a couple of guys since T and I broke up. Two of them were failed first dates and the Chef who lasted longer. Each time T was supportive of me and he encouraged me to go on each date.

Having said all that and knowing in my head this is the right thing for him to do, I feel like my heart is being ripped out of my chest. I know I have no right to feel this way and if I do feel this way I need to shut the fuck up about it. (I will suggest that T not read this particular entry.) I mean honestly, did I expect him to just shut himself up in his room while I did whatever?  Of course not. He has a life to live too.

Now I know how T must have felt when I was meeting other guys. I did not give enough consideration to how he felt, which makes me an asshole.  If he felt like I do now, he never said a word.  That speaks to not only his character, but his love for me.
  

The Chef Is Out

I am not going to get into the long story as to why it did not work out, but it didn’t.  The sad part is that he was VERY into me.  He really wanted to be with me and I believe he could really see a future for us together.  I was not on the same page.

I told him I didn't think we were compatible.  He didn't agree.  He thought we just needed to get to know each other better.  I was frustrated that sometimes we seemed good together and then just minutes later, we were arguing about something.  Or something I said upset him.

We even took a weekend away together.  I thought that would help.  It made it worse.  The 5 hour drive back from that trip was very uncomfortable.

When he finally got the hint that I didn't want to go any further with him, he became very upset.  He told me the time we had together was a waste of his life (3 months) and then said, “Thanks for being so fake!”

That stung a more than little, but that’s where i cut it off.  I stopped responding to his messages.

Yesterday he reached out and apologized for saying what he said.  He informed me that he was taking a transfer with his company to another of their properties in California.  He asked me to meet him to this afternoon for coffee, one last time.  He is leaving in September.

I have been thinking over the past few weeks about why this did not work out with him.  I thought he was physically attractive.  He was nice to me and went out of this way to make time to see me.  He bought me a case of my favorite British hard cider that is not easy to get here in the states.  He had a good job, a stable lifestyle, and no more drama than anyone else.  He wanted to same things out of the relationship that I did.  What’s more he wanted them with me.  I should jumped at this.  I should bent over backwards to keep him.  

But I didn't.  Why?  

I don’t think I have to look far for the answer.

So Many Couples

The ship we were on was huge. While 3,100 passengers sounds like a lot, I was surprised how small it felt. I was surprised about how often I would see the same people over and over. Not only would we see them on the ship, but I would see them in port as well.

I don’t know how many gay people there were on this ship, but there were definitely a bunch of couples. I was seeing them everywhere. There were a group of 4 very hot young guys that I later figured out were 2 couples. There at least 2 older gay couples. And a couple of other gay couples, so all together I spotted about 10 couples.



Like I said in my earlier post, I spent a lot of time on my own on this trip. Sometimes in the afternoon or evening I would watch these couples where ever I found them. Sometimes they were laying out in the sun (in various states of undress) or other times, in the evening at the bar on the Lido deck. I was not watching them simply because some of them were eye candy. I guess, I did appreciate the hot bodies in the sun, but I was really watching the interaction between them.



Like these two guys. At one port we had to take a tender from the ship to the port. While I was talking a picture of these ship behind us, I got these guy taking a selfie of themselves. I didn’t notice them right away, but I found myself watching them too.

Each time I saw one of these couples together, I thought about the Chef. I thought about how much better it would have been if he was there with me. Neither of us have much interest in laying in the sun, but I think we both would have liked being in a shady spot with a book and a frozen drink.

But since I was alone, I could not help but be a little sad.

Lonely Coffee

After returning from England, I was home for one day and then left on a cruise vacation. K planned it and asked me if I wanted to come. Who was going? A crowd. It was me, my 4 kids, K, AJ, and AJ’s daughter. Eight of us all together on a Carnival cruise ship for 6 days. What could possibly go wrong? Luckily, we got such a good deal we could afford to upgrade to large cabin with a large balcony on the port side of the ship. We were all close, but no on top of each other.

I would have liked the cruise a better if the Chef was there with me. (Or T, but I am trying not to think about that.)

Even though I was there with a large group, I spent a surprising amount of time alone. The older kid mostly did their own thing. The younger kids had special activities just for them. K and AJ spent their time together. That left me alone. I didn’t really mind that much. I bought my kindle and a bunch of gay romance novels. I liked wandering the decks and watching people. There were a lot of people to watch too. Some very attractive. Others…. not so much.



I shared a cabin with my 3 sons. Each morning I would get up before them and head up on deck. Even on the days were in port, I was up before the ship docked. Before I got up on the deck I would stop by the breakfast buffet and make myself a cup of coffee. I would go up, lean on the rail and look out to sea. Sometimes there were other ships or an approaching port. Other times there was nothing but the open ocean. While I liked the time to myself, I really would have preferred to share it with someone special.



I was thinking about the Chef and how it would have been nice to have him at the rail with me. Sipping our coffee, sharing the experience and building our relationship. I thought about T too. He would have loved the beauty of the early morning sun on the water.

I could not help but be a little sad.

Restoring My Inspiration

The last 4 weeks have been crazy for me with a ton of stuff going on.

At the beginning of the month I left to spend a week and an half in the UK. As some of you may remember I work for a company that is based there. I have been to England twice before (the first half of 2012) and have written about those trips in the blog. Both those trips were of questionable value both personally and professionally.

Professionally those trip were kind of a bad because I was very new to the company. I did not know anyone and I did not really understand the job they wanted me to do. Neither did anyone else, since it was a new position. I didn’t really know what questions to ask and no one there knew what to do with me.

Fast forward 2 years and I am really integrated into the company. It is a small company and the work I do is mission critical. This trip I was able to build a lot of professional relationships and that was really great.

Personally I got so spend a bunch of time with 2 guys who are a gay couple. Let’s call them “Alister and Mark”. For a while Alister was my direct supervisor, even though he was based in England and I was in the US. We developed a good working relationship, mostly because he left me alone to get on with my work. But we also developed a personal friendship. It came out in conversation once that we are both gay, so that was another thing we had in common.

When Alister started dating Mark, he told me about it. Alister was pretty excited about it, seeing at Mark was 22 to Alister’s 40. Eventually, Alister got Mark a job as the same company we work for. I got to know Mark a little bit through my interactions at work. But on this trip I got to spend a lot of time with them.



They live in a city about an hour train ride from the office, but a few days after work we would stop into a pub for a few drinks before they went home. Seeing them together was really good. I made me think of the kind of relationship that I want for myself. What I wanted with T and what I am hoping for with the Chef.

My trip spanned a weekend and they invited me out to their town for the weekend. I had been to London and this town was a mix of modern and old. They met me at the train station, took me back to their apartment before we headed out to for the pub crawl they had planned for me.



Another thing about them, I found inspiring was they way they dealt with their age difference. Or more accurately they didn’t deal with it at all. It really was a non-issue for them. It was clear they were in love with each other, they were making a life together and that was all that mattered to them.



It was really nice to see, but I have to admit to being more than a little jealous.

Reports Of My Death...

Hey there gang.  I am not dead.  I have not been abducted by aliens.  I have not stopped the blog.  I had a very busy week at work.  I spent 2 weeks in England where my company is based.  And then I spent a week on a cruise ship sipping a frozen drinks with a tiny umbrellas.

I have a lot to update on and I will get to it over the next week or so.

• How things are going with T.
• How things are going with the Chef (have I named him yet?)
• The ongoing demise of K and AJ and how is impacting me and the kids.
• Thoughts and observations from my 3 weeks of traveling.  

Losing My Inspiration

About a year ago they built a house across the street from K. When it was finished, some people moved in. It turned out to be a gay couple, I'll call Steve and Jerry. Steve and Jerry had been together for a number of years. They were moving here because Steve got transfered by his job. Living with them was Jerry's 10 year old son.

These guys had exactly the kind of relationship that I wanted. Real partners who lived their lives together as one family unit. There were open with all the neighbors about who they were and quickly accepted into the community like any other family.

It really was inspirational for me. I could see what I wanted was possible because these guys were living it.

Last week I was disappointed to learn that Jerry had moved out of the house. I was really sad to hear that. It was especially sad because my daughter and Jerry's son had become good friends.

I know all relationships can go sour. I know not everything is flowers and rainbows. I don't know specifically why Steve and Jerry split, but it was disapointing anyway.

I've heard they are trying to work out whatever it is that's bothering them. I hope they do.

Falling For The Chef

It's been about three weeks since I started seeing the Chef. The more I get to know him the more I like him. I have seen him to be romantic and attentive. Even though we have not said to each other that we are "Mr. Right" (and it's too soon for that), we have talked about the hypothetical partner we both want. He not only wants a partner, he wants a husband. He definitely wants to get married. (Maybe to me?)

Friday and Saturday are his days off from work. He usually reserves Friday for things he wants to do and he reserves Saturday for his mother. He takes her where she needs to go and to do things she wants to do.

This Saturday morning I was laying bed after a mostly sleepless night reading a book on my Kindle. Chef and I had brief text message exchange.

Me: I am thinking about the next time I get to see you.

Chef: What about today?

Me: Today?

Chef: Yeah. We could meet for coffee. I'm free till 11:00am.

Me: (glancing at the clock) Well... yeah. I'll jump in the shower now and leave.

Twenty minutes later I was in the car heading to the pre-arranged meeting place. I parked my car and walked to the coffee shop. As I was getting close, I could see his truck turning into a parking lot across the way. I walked in his direction, watching him get out of his truck. It took me a few minutes to realize I was smiling broadly.



We met in the middle and I was rewarded with a big hug. We headed over to the coffee shop in the middle this large outdoor mall kind of place. Because it was only about 9:00, many of the shops were not open and there were not a lot of people there yet. We got our coffee and walked around the place talking. After a lap around, we found a table outside the coffee shop and sat down. I slid my chair next to him and put my feet up on the opposite chair.

After about 2 hours have slipped by and we were still chatting, sharing pictures on our phones, and sipping coffee. He had to go pick up his mother and I had to head over to K's house and keep an eye on the kids.


It was really nice he made the time to see me that morning. What's more, he wanted to see me enough to work it out. It was an unexpected treat and it really made my day. I walked him back to his truck and I was ready to say good bye. I got a goodbye hug and a kiss. As I was turning to walk away, he stopped me. He had forgotten something. He pulled out a greeting card out of the center console. The card said he missed me when we are apart. It really made me feel special

As he drove away, I walked slowly back to my car. I was feeling better and more hopeful than in a long time. I am not in love with the Chef yet, however, I can tell my feelings are changing.

I Can't Sleep

I have not been sleeping well for the past few weeks.  Tonight is worse. People I care about are upset with me and I cannot stop thinking about it.

*sigh*

Self Inflicted Wound? Maybe.

I have received numerous bits of advice telling me to abandon T over the past 9 months. I have heard it from people who have left comments here. I have heard it from K. I have heard it. I understand all the reasons why it's a good idea.

I do.

I really do.

But I am not going to do it.

If you have been following my blog from the beginning, or have looked back at all, you know about the slow motion, three year divorce I had from K. I took a long time. It was agonizing and painful. I was an emotional mess. However, in the end, it worked out for the best. It worked out better for K. It worked out better for the kids. It worked out better for me.

I have no regrets and I would not do anything differently, despite the pain.

Moreover, I know that K got lots of advice about how she should treat me. One of her best friends (someone I thought was a friend of mine too) told her to hang me out to dry. She told K to get the best redneck lawyer she could afford and string me up. K was told by another friend to kick me out of the house the minute I "decided" to be gay. I did not deserve to live in that house with her and the kids. (Of course she still thought I deserved to pay for it...)

Thank God, K did not listen to those voices whispering.... well shouting. in her ear.



I am not willing to let T go from completely from my life. I am trying to transition what we had (or what I wished for) into what reality is. T is trying to do the same thing.

Am I making this harder on myself than it needs to be? Probably, but I am thinking of the end goal. Years from now I want my partner and me to be able to go to a BBQ at T's house. Maybe he will have a new partner, maybe he won't. Maybe he will still be with his sisters, but we will be friends.

Honestly, I don't understand how anyone who has read this blog and knows how I think, would think I would kick T to the curb after all we have been through.

It's simply not going to happen.

I Can’t Take Yes For An Answer

Well, gay dating might be starting to work out for me. I am, however, having a hard time be fully happy about it.

I have had a couple of dates with the Chef and I am really liking him. And he likes me. He is about my age and he likes the “bear” look. (I really hate that term but I fit into it nicely.) He likes me and after a couple of dates, I am liking him too.

It is WAYYY too soon to think about if he is THE guy or not, but so far I can see myself dating him. I am sure that he can see dating me. Last night I took my profile down from Match.com to see how this plays out.

I need to go see the Professor. I have not seen him in 2 weeks, but we talk on the phone every so often. Even before I went out with the Chef, I knew the Professor was not for me. I just didn’t have the heart to tell him. Now I feel like I have to. He is a nice guy and I would like to be his friend, but I think I will hurt his feelings. I know most guys would just blow him off, but I would rather not.

I have been talking to T about all this. By talking, I mean we have been texting back and forth a lot, talking only occasionally. I know that he is not thrilled about the idea of be dating someone else, but we both knew that it was only a matter of time. I am trying to figure out how to transition from being his boyfriend to being his friend. Yes, I know many of you think I should cut all ties with T, but I’m not going to.



On the one hand, I am happy about the possibilities that the Chef represents. On the other, I am still mourning the loss of what I had and hoped for with T. I know some will think that sounds stupid, but that’s how I feel.

T, The Professor , and The Chef

The past 2 weeks have been busy.

I met T for dinner. It was the first time I had seen him in a while. It was good to see him. I did start to have some of the old feelings rush back, but he quickly squashed them. Not in a mean way, but firm and to the point. There was no longer any chance of use being together, so I should just move on. (No, he did not say it that way, but meaning was the same.) In a way this was kind of what I needed to hear from him. I didn't like to hear it, but this was one of the first times that he told me so directly it was over from his point of view. Kind of like a mother bird pushing a baby out of the nest.

I met up with the Professor. We had dinner and went back to his place. It was nice and I like him. However, this third date made it clear to me, that I was not really interested in him the way he is interested in me. I have not told him I feel that way, but I have been opening up some distance between us. Eventually I will have to talk to him because I don't want to just blow him off.



Last week I met another guy. He wrote to me on Match.com. (I still have yet to write to anyone first.) I answered him and then I met him for coffee after work. He is the executive chef at a place that makes all their food from scratch. He is attractive. About my age. He is divorced and has a daughter. We was married a long time so he knows what a long term partner relationship is all about. He is also looking for the right guy for a long term relationship and one day he wants to get married. So at least I know his relationship goals are the same as mine. He is also something on an extrovert so it's possible he will compliment my introverted nature.

I met him again for lunch on Friday and I like him just bit more. Maybe he will be the one? Like the Professor, he seems to be interested in me. He (the Chef) has certainly peeked my interest.

Oh there is one thing...

Like T, he lives with his elderly mother...

Feelings. Real or Imagined

I enjoy getting comments on my blog. Even when I disagree with them, I appreciate that were offered in the spirit of helping me deal with a certain problem. Generally I have made it a policy not to comment on comments. I don't want this place where I come to work out things to turn into a debate forum. That said, a comment on my last posting is making me think a little.

When I chose to marry K and start a life with her, it was the early 1990's. While does not seem like too long ago, If you consider where we are as a society in respect to gay people, 1990 is light years away.

In 1993 when K and I married, it was not that I was a gay man pretending to be straight. At that time, I had convinced myself that being gay was simply a matter of sexual behavior. If I was having sex with women I was straight and if I was having it with a man I was gay. I believed (as did most people at the time) that if I only refrained from gay behavior I would be staight.

In 1993, loved K very much. She was great to be around. She made me happy and I made her happy. From my perspective that was the recipe for a happy marriage. I told her about my past encounters with guys and she was OK with it.

I never told K anything about my feelings that I did not believe in my heart was true at the time I said it. Looking back with 20/20 hindsight, I can see that some of those things were feeling I convinced myself I had rather than genuine feelings. (When you spend your life trying to make your feeling comport with what everyone is telling you should feel, it is sometimes hard to tell the difference.

So I while I regret the pain that K had to deal with in our divorce, I do not feel any guilt or shame that I misled her into a marriage simply to hide my sexual orientation.

Fast forward to today.



I have had 2 dates with the Professor. On the second date it was clear that he wanted to get more physical with me than I was ready for. He clearly likes me. I think he is a nice guy. I can see myself being friends with him, but I am not sure about dating him (or more). Maybe those feelings would grow over time.

However, I am I starting a possible relationship with a lie. Unlike when I was getting started with K, I have already told the Professor things that I know are not quite true. He asked about the break up with T and I told him it was about 6 months ago. (TRUE) I told him that what I wanted out of a relationship and what T wanted was largely incompatible. (TRUE) I told him that I was over T and did have the "in love" feelings anymore. (NOT TRUE) I told him that while I still cared about T, I was ready to move on. (HALF-TRUE)

So what the hell am I doing? Maybe I am hoping as I get to know the Professor, my feelings for him will grow and my feelings for T will shrink. (I'm pretty sure T thinks that will happen.) Maybe it will not be important in the long run, that I am still in love with T now.

There is also the thing that I am not expecting the Professor or anyone else will work out. Since I have only seen him twice, I don't need to tell him everything. I mean, who spills all their intimate feelings on the first or second date. I don't think I am obligated to tell him my life story the first week I meet him, I am ?

I guess it will depend on where it leads. I am going to wait and see.

Taxes and The Professor

K and I don't argue about too many things, but money is one of them. She thinks I don't give her enough. She is always complains about how broke she is and AJ is always giving her crap about it too. It seems before AJ met K, he had a lot to money in the bank and plenty of disposable income. Now he does not have that and reminds K of it from time to time. She hates that.

AJ makes more money than I do and K is working too. She is about to get a job that will pay even more. K and him have a larger and more expensive house than I do. They needed to get a house that would fit them plus our kids and is daughter. (I guess that's my fault.) She also bought a larger more expensive car. She didn't like the minivan she was driving and she had AJ buy her a much larger truck. She pretended it was so everyone could fit in it, but that is not really the truth. She just liked the new car better. It's kind of he same thing with the house. She could have bought a large house for less, but she wanted a new house so hey paid extra for that. (Which is not my fault.)

You see, K is a spender. She likes to spend money whenever she has it. She has a long list of things she wants and as soon as she has the cash she will get them. Some of the things she wants a big ticket, like cruise vacations. But while saving for that she buys stupid things like candles or soaps that smell nice. When she lived with me, the closet on our bathroom had a huge box of them. She moved that box to the new house and guess what? It's in her closet there and bigger than before.

No matter how much money she has, K will always be broke. She will just adapt her spending to match her income. That is driving AJ crazy, but he's kind of stuck.

So how is that my problem? Generally it's not, but it's time to file taxes for last year. The first year we filed separately we each claimed 2 kids. Last year she complained that she spends more money on the kids and she wanted to claim all 4. I talked her into claiming 3 and I would take one.

This year we did the fight again. Since the kids live with her full time she thinks she deserves it. But I pay a ton of money too. First I give her cash every time I get paid. It is direct deposited into her bank account. Plus I am always spending money on food, doctor visits, clothes and other stuff for the kids. I am not compalining. They are my kids and that's what I am supposed to do. I just want to be able to get some of the tax deduction I am entitled to. She does not see it that way so we had a fight about it.

What a pain in the ass.

-------------------------------------------------------------



In other news, 107 people have looked at my Match.com profile and only 2 people have written to me. The criminal that I talked about in my last post and a music professor. I nearly missed the professor's email. It was almost 2 weeks old by the time I noticed it. He is a little older than me. His profile seemed nice, but he did not post a picture.

So I wrote to him and we exchanged a couple of emails.

Last night he called me and we spoke for about half an hour. (a stark contrast from the criminal who never wanted to talk for more then two or three minutes.) He seemed nice, on the shy side, but not overly so. After a very pleasant conversation, we decided to meet in person. I think he would have met me tonight, but I have other plans tonight. We will meet up later in the week. After we spoke, he did send me a picture. He looks good for his age. He's not a Men's Health cover model, but nether am I.

I am not getting my hopes up, but maybe I will make a new friend. I am glad he did not ask me about my last boyfriend. I didn't want to have to say that I am still in love with him.

Maybe I'll save that for the second date.