Howdy all! It's been a whirlwind few days and although it was great to have a break from the BB, get to Seattle and meet my buddies (Seattle Hopeful, Triple J and Myrrh), it's good to be home again. Seattle, thanks for your cab services (and you know I owe you for you-know-what ); same goes to Triple J and our resident sweetie, Myrrh. I have met some WONDERFUL people on this BB.

Berto, I think Merrick addressed his thoughts on VA Beach in his own thread. He's given his loyalty to the AVs for the rest of the playoffs, so I will respectfully decline hounding him. I hope you all have fun, though! Shouldn't be too difficult to keep up here--not too much going on.

Holding On--Mr. Wonderful has received a good dose of me moving on all along. I have a great group of friends, supportive family members on both sides (I got a beautiful letter via e-mail from my FIL this morning), and the greatest kids on the planet (what good is a mom who won't toot their kids' horns?). I've always been fiercely independent, and my attitude reflects this--good or bad.

I'll catch you guys up with MC and following. The session was good. Bottom line is that MC feels that I must issue a directive to Mr. W., asking for a time when he will give me a decision. He feels this has been sitting out in limbo for long enough as well.

After he asked me to rewrite the letter from the POV of asking questions, I thought about it a great deal. So on my way to the airport on Friday, I called Mr. W. in the office. We had a few housekeeping details to address and clear, and then I brought up the issue--from a questioning standpoint.

Nicely, I stated that I would like some resolution and that either way he chooses, I will accept the outcome and we will work on whatever path he chooses so that everyone can live happily. I also let him know that since he was the one to initiate this separation, he would be responsible for making the decision on how this story ends. But that the ending must come soon. He didn't say much, but agreed with me and restated the fact that he doesn't want to divorce.

I returned home after a turbulent flight and a long wait on the tarmac to find my loved ones bundled in my bed watching a movie. D7 was pretty aloof, but D10 was happy to see me. Even Mr. W. had a sincere smile on his face.

I noticed that he did a lot of yardwork while I was gone--fertilizing, mowing, thatching, clearing out dead branches on our aspens. This morning, I see he left a copy of a paint contract to repaint the exterior of the house (which is in dire need). Since he didn't ask me about it and went ahead, should I see this as encouraging? I don't know.

I still don't know the details of D10's attitude this past weekend. Mr. W. invited Gary over for a BBQ on Saturday night and she locked herself in the bedroom for the duration. I'll get to the bottom of things with her, because I don't want this to the the M.O. when I head out of town.

Mer and Pam--Please feel free to jump in anytime!

Briget--I'm saving the most important for last. I'm guessing that the reason your H doesn't feel at home in your house is because of the guilt that being there invokes. I used to hear the same comment from Mr. Wonderful, and it was months before he admitted that being in our house made him extremely sad and regretful.

Perhaps a reminder of what they were throwing away?

About you moving on... is this a 180 for you? Or have you always been the independent one who hangs tough? We may have to tweak this a little bit, depending on your feedback.

So that's it from my part of the ocean for now. I'll try to be back later.

Just keep swimming!

Bets

"There are only 2 ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."

Albert Einstein