WAW and 4 kids

[tryingtilDorR]

I am taking a deep breath and preparing for a 3 night trip accross country with W and D15. We leave tommorrow. I sent her a text msg from work today asking what was going on and whether or not she was ready to go, and got a reply that she was having trouble finding shorts that fit her (she thinks she is too fat - she gained a few pounds but was too skinny before anyway). I broke down and replied about how good she looks at her current weight. I didn't want to sound like I was pursuing, but paying her a compliment that I know she loves to hear (she craves it I think). I think she really needs to hear this stuff even though she doesn't want to hear it from me neccessarily.

My plan this weekend is to act as if nothing is changed and we are just enjoying a family trip together, outside of no displays of affection between myself and W, and whatever conversation she is comfortable with. We will be with a familiar group of people and it should be fun. I also am wary that the weekend could be risky - she may not like the pressure having to act like a 'normal' family in front of others.

I have been doing a lot of reading on the DB boards today and am wondering if I can keep things calm for the rest of the summer, possibly approaching her about joing MC in the fall and possibly attending the New Beginnings workshop. We already did Retrouvaille but the timing was very bad with OM heavily in picture. New Beginnings is 3 days as opposed to 8 weeks and it is something I might be able to convince her to try. Her interaction with OM has definitely slowed from what I can tell, so if this keeps up we might be more successful in the future if she doesn't bail before then? I will be thinking about this over the next month some more.