Feeling a Little Hurt? How do I make this blow over in my head?

So Whiskers and I only see each other about once every two weeks. Due to the holidays, it was over three weeks in-between our two most recent dates. Despite this slow down, we seem to be getting closer and when he suggested an lunch date for only 1.5 weeks after our previous one, I was excited.

Well, that date won't work out for logistical reasons, and our next evening date on the calendar isn't for over a month. So I went ahead and texted other dates for a possible get-together in the interim -- essentially to put us back on the "every-two-weeks" schedule, since our next date is still 4 weeks away. My suggestions didn't work for him and so I was stretching to find good times -- offering times that were less good for me, but that I could possibly make work if they worked on his end.

All of a sudden he said, "It's not that simple." And explained that he needs to not create tension in his childcare situation with his nesting partners -- their child is younger than mine are -- plus they have a baby on the way. "In a few years it won't be a big deal anymore once they are more self-sufficient. But right now it is harder and dates with you are not the only times I get out of the house."

I was super taken aback. I suppose he was just stressed by the fact that he had just asked his nesting partners about putting a date with me on the calendar (even though it is over a month away) and so he didn't want to ask them about another date in-between? But since we had been on an every two-to-three weeks date schedule, I was under the impression that that was an appropriate pace for him to maintain.

I apologized and said I hadn't meant to be pushy. He sent me some playful emojis. But fuck, I feel hurt.

Now I don't feel like I know what to do. Do I drop it entirely and just assume that we won't see each other for another month? Do I try to clarify whether he is saying that his nesting partners need to reduce the frequency of our contacts? I don't want to create tension with his nesting partners. I'm feeling extremely anxious that it appears that I have. And if I am not going to see him for another month, I'm afraid I am going to be carrying around this anxiety for all that time because I don't do well with having serious conversations via text/phone.
 
Just looking at it from here, he has been honest (I assume) in letting you know what's going on.

I would also look back on how you were when your kids were younger,and also how you were when you had a kid on the way, and see if that helps to put your mind in the same place his is right now.
 
Just looking at it from here, he has been honest (I assume) in letting you know what's going on.

I would also look back on how you were when your kids were younger,and also how you were when you had a kid on the way, and see if that helps to put your mind in the same place his is right now.

Thanks.

It is resolved. I checked in with him a little while later, asking if, in general, he had felt like I was asking for too much time. He said he was embarrassed to realize that he had been confused about when the next scheduled date was and had thought I was pushing for a faster turnaround time than we had been aiming for. He apologized and said it had nothing to do with me asking for too much and that the pace we had been going at had been working for him.
 
I think this is another case where you need to clearly communicate with Whiskers. Did you ask him whether his response came from a place of tension between him and his partners? Did you ask whether *you* were the cause of that tension, if it even exists?

I think you know that sometimes you magnify things in your brain and the thoughts start getting tangled up. (I'm the same way, and I remember that being mentioned to you in other threads.) That seems to be what you're doing here. The only *facts* you know are that Whiskers said he doesn't *want* to cause tension (not that he is, only that he doesn't want to), that he didn't respond to you about the dates you suggested, and that the way he did respond was hurtful to you.

So I would, calmly and after making sure it's a good time for him to talk, tell him how you feel. "Whiskers, we had been seeing each other about every other week, so I thought that worked for you. But when I tried to schedule time with you sooner than our next planned date, you responded in a way that sounded to me like I had upset you. It also sounded like our relationship is causing problems with your other relationships. I'm feeling hurt and confused by this. Could you tell me why you sounded upset, and whether I'm causing problems for you with your other partners? I'd also like to know how often is reasonable for me to hope we'll get together. I want to make sure I understand where we're at."

(That might be too long, but you get the idea.)

I see that you say you aren't good with serious discussions by text or phone, but consider whether you would rather push past that discomfort and get some straight answers from him so you don't obsess about it, or whether you would rather obsess about it for the next month. (Also, if neither text nor phone works, what about an email? You would have to wait longer for a reply, probably, but you would be able to lay it all out for him in a way that would give him more time to consider a response, instead of him possibly feeling put on the spot and like he has to answer you immediately.)
 
P.S. I see you posted while I was typing. I'll leave my post in case it's useful to you or someone else in the future.
 
Thanks.

It is resolved. I checked in with him a little while later, asking if, in general, he had felt like I was asking for too much time. He said he was embarrassed to realize that he had been confused about when the next scheduled date was and had thought I was pushing for a faster turnaround time than we had been aiming for. He apologized and said it had nothing to do with me asking for too much and that the pace we had been going at had been working for him.

That's good to know.
 
Hi MsE,

It sounds like you had a bit of miscommunication with Whiskers, I'm glad that you and he were able to clear that up. If you had your hopes up for a 1½-week gap between dates, maybe you could mention to him that that's something you would eventually like to do. Just a thought.

Sincerely,
Kevin T.
 
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