For the moment, I prefer the comfort of having a girlfriend. We have gone through most of the NY Times 36 questions, so I think she knows me more and I her than might be the case in a standard BF-GF relationship.
She knows that I don't like not seeing my kids much, that I feel connected to EE people and a 78 year old guy friend here, that I feel lonely working alone at home when in Sweden. I know that she sometimes does math problems at night when she can't sleep, that she feels strongly about gender equality, that trust is a big issue for her in our R.
I think we need to work through to what we want from our R, and that tonight will be part of that. Yes, I would like to address her wants and needs (and here, as she spent so much time alone as a single mom, not trusting men, is what is mean by "naive" (her term)- she says she does not know).
I've told her about wanting to bike next week, and am sure we will talk about it tonight.
Making our R public is relevant since my xW knows her well and the change of status may change things. My daughter thinks GF is weird - not sure where that will lead. Finally, I still stay with my xMIL when in the US, which I imagine may change when she finds out I am seeing xW's long term good friend (I may need to rent an apartment in the US as a result).
I don't mind others knowing about us if this doesn't change my R with those others. This seems to indicate that she and I should talk about it...
So yes, I am concerned a smidgeon about what xW will say, and how this may change things here and in the US.
What is nice for she and I is that her and my kids both know each other well (her and my daughters are long term friends), and so there is a certain ease in all this, not the usual dating framework/timeline/etiquette.
Luke
M58, xW54 S22, D18 M 1984, D 2016 Living a new life.
