Hi there Bill, I've been following your thread for around a month now, but was always about a week behind or more so that any response I wanted to make weren't gonna be very timely ... up to now ... Well, at least these fall within the same week ...
Quote: I'd working on twisting the circuits in my head, turning on and off the right switches ...
So Bill ... are you of the older generation that has those dip switches that can be set in thousands of different combinations? They were worse than trying to figure out a combination lock.
... and W wanting to use the master bath again and moving all her bathroom supplies there is for certain a couple of baby steps closer towards moving into the master bedroom. Question tho for clarification ... is it sleeping in the same room or bed that she feels she is not ready for? Since the suggestion of swapping bedrooms didn't make her anymore comfortable? What if you both "camped" out each in their own sleeping bag side by side in the living room (neutral territory) for a couple of nights might help. It might sound kinda silly, but it might take using a little silliness to break the ice for the first time. If she is uncomfortable with the masterbed, them maybe the next step would be to move those sleeping bags onto the master bedroom floor.
Nice list of positives Bill. It could be a neat tool to keep those edgy feelings at bay.
Quote: 4) Although W has been very stressed out about work lately, full of anxiety and self-doubt, I talked through some of this with her. She said that she depends on me for this - I am key in helping her with her struggles.
Of your list, this one struck me the most as being a real benchmark. Its a wonderful sign the the emotional intimacy is being nurtured and is going stronger. This has been one aspect that has been lacking in my M for years and I just don't know how to get it back.