I hope I am going out of order because it feels like I have been through all of those stages many times.
Your work analogy reminds me of the Seinfield episode where Kramer fake works for the company and then gets fired. "but I don't even really work here". "that's what makes this so difficult"
I know I know. It was a lapse of judgment...
Just so I can pat myself on the back a little. I did ignore a crapload of text last night. She was spamming the hell out of me for updates. I just waited until I had an item I felt she needed to know and sent that to her. Not responding to her many frantic texts in-between.
Then she did pay me a compliment today on how well I handled the situation. I was calm and collected through the whole thing and she saw that. I think she was also a little bummed that I never asked her for advice. I made all of the decisions on my own. Her being an RN is important here.
I already got in an hour of practice on the guitar tonight so now I can just jam and have a good time. I can already see quite a bit of improvement, it's been great!
BITS
Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.