Good day Jeannine, I was a bit worried by your absence since the weekend, but that melt away when I read your post. A lot of good news there. So glad to hear you got to go to DB meet and had a good time and the positive aftermath with H.
Quoting Jeannine: I’m not sure what caused what I deem to be a temporary mood shift. The question is not “will” the pendulum swing back, but “when” will it.
Maybe it’s the excitement of getting a new bike, or he’s trying a new strategy, or there was a paradigm shift in his gray matter. Who can say for sure?
Initally, it was about getting the new bike, but he continued good mood was as others have already have mentioned because of how well you acted to his expressing his need for space with acceptance and respect along with affirming that you are OK with it. Also contributing is the eluding to some new found independence of your own. You're breaking his perception that you need to cling to him, that you expect him to be your 24/7 caretaker. You are untying those apron strings, so he no longer wants to let go completely.
Quoting Jeannine: But alas, I’ve noticed that I’m getting pretty darn gun shy lately...
This is a normal defense mechanism. When the rollercoaster starts climb, your head starts looking for signs of the crest to give you enough warning to place yourself in protect mode for the downhill portion. I still constantly struggle with this too. The trick really is not to try to stress yourself that the crest it coming, but to accept that if it comes, you'll will be OK. Accept that what happens ... happens and work on gaining the confidence that no matter what happens you will be OK and in the interm keep strive to string more of those good days together until they outnumber the bad.
IMHO, I don't believe one's entire past needs to be examined under the microscope in C, but one does have to look at past mistakes / regrets that one has not addressed so as to not to keep doing the same things that bring about the same bad outcomes. Then one can understand better the direction they need to look to find the solutions.
