Saturday, September 13, 2008

Break-ups

So, in my last post, I mentioned something about seeing someone and that went great for a little while until he decided to be totally random and pull the "it's not you, it's me" thing (in an email, no less).
This is the email (no, I don't mind if you read it.):

Dear Regine,
I'm writing you this letter because I need to express to you my feelings, and I'm better at expressing myself in writing than I am verbally. I also want you to truly hear what I'm saying to you and I'm afraid that you might not hear all the positive in person or over the phone. Regine, I have had so much fun dating you and being your boyfriend over the last month and a half. You are the best person I've ever met on match.com and I feel like we share so many interests and values in common. Let me just list a few of the qualities I appreciate in you:
. You have a great sense of humor and always know how to make me laugh. I also love making you laugh.
. You're intelligent and driven and have strong values and know what you want in life.. You're attractive, stylish, sexy, a great kisser and know how to turn me on.
. You're open-minded, easy-going and adventurous and that makes going places with you really fun.. I love going on walks with you and talking about anything at all.
. You're caring, affectionate and a great listener and I have always felt like I can trust you and tell you anything and everything.
. I love having drinks with you and watching you get all silly. I can't help but smile from ear to ear whenever I think of going to Steel Garden with you.
. You're accepting of me and all my faults. I'm far from perfect, but you've always made me feel good about myself, handsome, and adequate.
. You've opened my eyes to a lot of things and I've learned so much from you.. I love that you like animals and have always shown an interest in the things that interest me and make me happy.
. I love that you have a pretty voice and can dance and have so many other feminine virtues and qualities.
And the list goes on.What I'm trying to say is that you are a wonderful girlfriend and friend to me. Nevertheless, I know that you can sense there is something wrong and since truth is a value that we both strongly believe in I need to tell you how I feel. Honestly, Regine, I feel like before I can commit to you, I need to have the opportunity to date more women. The fact is that I've dated very few women and I feel a strong need to continue to date for a while so that I know what is out there and can learn what I really want. I want you to know that I haven't been seeing anyone, going on dates or cheating on you. Honesty is important to both of us, so I want you to know that I have been exchanging a few emails with women on match.com. That has been going on for about 2 weeks and I want you to know since I don't want to keep anything from you. Most likely if I end up going on dates with these women they won't be right for me and won't compare to you, but I feel like I need to find out for myself and not lose this learning opportunity. Dating you has been absolutely wonderful and I am trying to make you understand that this is about me and not you. You've done nothing wrong and everything right and I'd like to be able to continue seeing and dating you if you are ok with that. I can certainly understand if you are not ok with that and don't want to see me again, but this is nothing personal and I don't want to anger or alienate you. I also know that you haven't dated much either, and I want you to date more guys as well, so that you too can learn more about yourself and what you want in a relationship.All this is coming up now because I feel guilty for not being as good a boyfriend to you as you deserve and I know I can be. I pride myself on being a good boyfriend, but I haven't been as good a boyfriend to you as I want to be because I didn't want to lead you on and make things worse. For example, I've wanted to bring you flowers for a long time now, and I know they are long overdue, but I felt that it would send the wrong signal when I at the same time feel like I want to date some more. Likewise, I haven't been as affectionate and complimentary to you as I would like to be. That's also why I haven't brought you home to meet my parents. I want them to meet you very much, but I was afraid to take that step and advance our relationship because I don't want to lead you on anymore than I'm afraid I already have and I certainly don't want to hurt you. I'm so sorry if this is hurting you Regine. I've been crying while writing this because it hurts me to think that I'm hurting you. You've been absolutely wonderful to me and it was never my intention to hurt you or anyone. Sadly, the very nature of dating means that someone's feelings are always involved. I hope this letter has helped you understand how I feel. Again, you've done nothing wrong and I would like to continue seeing you. Yet I also feel like I need to date a few more women so that I don't always wonder "what if?". I hope you can understand that I'm trying to do the right thing. I also hope that if you feel you no longer want to date me, you will still value our friendship (now I'm crying again) because I've had more fun with you over the last couple months than with any of my guy friends. You are truly a pleasure to be around.Finally, I just wanted to say that I would love to talk to you about all this in person. I only wrote you this first because I wanted to express myself clearly and give you a chance to decide if you would be willing to see me again and discuss our relationship. Please respond to this email or call me and let me know how you feel and what you would like.
Paul

This is how I responded:

Paul,
I lied to you yesterday when I said that I was in a mellow mood after you told me that I seemed sad on the phone. I was very sad, and I had no idea why. Today at work, I had the biggest headache in the world and it only got worse as the day went on; I figured it was just the heat. I suppose I should believe people when they say that I have psychic tendencies. I must say that your email was well written, and I can't be too angry with someone who just wants to be honest with me. The truth really does hurt, whether you are telling it or hearing it, though I have to admit, it is much worse being on the receiving end of it. I had to read your email several times so that I can understand it as a rational human being rather than the pissed off girlfriend. I guess I see where you are coming from, and it would be better to talk about this in person. I've got some questions (15 to be exact)that need to be answered before I am able to make a decision. I called you a couple of times already and I guess no one was home (it was probably for the best). By the way, I read my horoscope today and this is what it said: "What does it mean to be a friend? The answer to that question is a little bit different for everyone, which will become all too apparent today when someone you relied on lets you down one more time. You two need to have a talk, and you need to have it today. Honest communication doesn't always feel that pleasant, but it is the only way to get things back on track. If you have expectations that they aren't fulfilling, they need to know about it." It's funny how the universe works.
Regine

Now I thought that I was being super clever with that response, but after realizing that there was no response to it, I later found out that he never received it. Weird, hunh?
So yes, we did talk on the phone after that and we decided that he can go off and do whatever he wants to do and I will have no part of it. I'll still be his friend (and I was serious about that. I take my friendships very seriously).

Now, back to his email and what he told me on the phone (i really wish I had a transcript of that conversation). Apparently I was this great girlfriend, I think he used wonderful and amazing a couple of times. If I'm so wonderful and amazing, why is he looking for something else? Some people would come to me and say, "why do you care so much? You only went out for 2 months." I know that two months is a short time, but our relationship was like a really great massage. You don't know how long it's going to last, but you are having the time of your life while your having it and then the thing that you want to last forever suddenly stops. It's natural to get disappointed, and the better the massage, the more disappointed you get.

We broke up a month and a half ago so I should be over it. I'm almost over it, but the thing that I can not get over is his self-deprication and his having nothing but good things to say about me. If he's so flawed and I'm so wonderful then what makes him think that he is capable of finding someone better than I am?

I'm scared that he actually will find someone better and he'll want nothing to do with me. I keep imagining this "Persuasion-esque" situation where years from now, we meet up again and we're both single and he tells me that he's never forgotten about me. In the off chance that he does want me back how will I know that it is because I'm the only one for him and not because he can't find anyone else so he'd rather settle?

I know, I do think too much, but that is what happens when you have so much " should be on a date" time.
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