Thanks Starsky. Interestingly enough, not 5 minutes after I posted, I received an email from W! Here's the breakdown of said email:
She asked if it would be "possible" for her to push back the date when she'll be picking up her stuff by one week, to October 6th-7th.
Then she explained that the reason she's asking is she has an opportunity to pick up some temp work over the weekend she was originally going to come down. She explained that she's having a very hard time finding work and is having a shortage of money.
Then she told me a story about how her friend's SUV (which she's planning on taking down here to move with) was hit by a drunk driver and will be in the shop for a while. She asked me to get back to her if her change of weekends works for me.
Then she thanked me for paying her back earlier this week for the Vegas trip and explained that I have an airline voucher available (since we never actually took the trip) until next year, and I'd just have to let her know the details of my next trip so she can transfer it.
She ended with "I Hope that you and (Our Dog) and (Our Cat) are doing well and I hope the pup had a good first birthday. Take Care"
Now, since she asked a question in this email, I know I have to get back to her about it. I'm planning on waiting until tomorrow to respond (mostly so I can get the advice of this board, as since this is the only thing I've heard from her for three weeks, I know I need to make this communication count).
I WANT to respond by hitting every point she brought up in the email (as I usually do), expressing that the other weekend she proposes will be fine (as I don't have unalterable plans for the original weekend, and I can make plans to leave town the weekend she wants to come down... although she knows none of these things), telling her I understand how tough it must be to find work, telling her "You're Welcome" for the payback, letting her know that I'll get back to her on the voucher, and telling her that our dog and cat are doing well (aside from some skin allergies) and that our puppy had a great first birthday... in fact I even threw him a party...
But I'm not sure if that's the best way to go about it. I WANT to be my usual sweet self, show her I'm listening to the things she's saying, and give her a peek into the life she's missing out on.
But at the same time, I think this might be fulfilling the emotional hole that she may be feeling with me not in her life.
I want to respond in a thoughtful, caring way without pursuing. The last time we "spoke" she accused me of being a "d!ck" and although that's technically a 180 for me, it's not one that I want to portray! Strength, thoughtfulness, and a caring attitude is what i'm shooting for in this response, and I don't want to come off as cold or uncaring... This is a delicate balance I've got to strike here.
