WAW - is it too late?

[RVM]

Thanks for your lengthy reply Sandi. It's really appreciated! I'll go through it and reply to it.

So, V-Day didn't turn out to be as awkward as I expected. Exchanged cards and gifts with the girls. They had a great time with this.

W got me a box of chocolates, but no card. I never bought her a card. Did not look at her to see if she was visibly upset about this. We never said "happy v-day" to each other the entire day. First time ever.

Afterwards, they did some last minute packing for their wknd trip the following morning. And, the girls then went to bed. I started cleaning up to go out. And, as I'm putting my shoes on to leave, W walks by and I casually tell her I'm headed out for the evening.

She made an angry sigh and walked away saying, "so, are you going to go out every night now?"

I asked in a very casual tone, "sorry, what do you mean by that?"

W: "you have been going out every night this week."
Me: "yes, that's true. I have been going to the gym after the girls go to bed."
W: "well, you're clearly not going to the gym tonight."
Me: "that's correct. I'm not."
I was tempted to ask her, "why, did you want to do something together?" Glad I didn't.

W: "well, I'm setting the alarm for 5 am tomorrow. We are leaving early."
Me: "okay."

She didn't ask what I was doing nor did I offer up any further information. But, she was visibly upset and stormed off to another part of the room.

Me: "okay, well, I'm headed out now so I'll see you later." W made a barely audible reply, and I left.

I ended up grabbing a coffee and then went to see a 10:30 pm showing of 1917. It was very odd to be doing this on V-Day. Especially seeing other couples out. And, I was dressed up pretty nice for the movies. I didn't feel lonely or anything. But, it was still odd to be out alone on V-Day when I'm married. Oh well, I grabbed a bucket of popcorn and a soda and enjoyed the movie.

Got home after 1 am. Climbed into bed and W didn't make a peep.

The next morning the W and Ds were up at 5:30 am to leave. I got up to say goodbye to them. I'm sure my W was surprised to see me so alert. Prob thought I was out at a bar and must be hungover. Said a nice goodbye to the girls and W. She barely made any eye contact with me.

Since they've been gone, I've been GALing like crazy. Going to the gym every night; signed up for some guitar lessons; did quite a bit of work on the next phase of a small carpentry project I'm doing for the girls; did a little shopping; went to the library and read some more of the 5 Love Languages book; ate out at a great sushi bar (solo) last night; made an omelette for breakfast; and grabbed some pho for lunch today from a Vietnamese restaurant I've been meaning to try.

I've also been being more attentive to the people I've communicated with out in public. Just having nice random conversations with other shoppers and cashiers. Keeping everything very light and comical. It feels good to just have these small connections with strangers.

This morning I spent a couple hours on my computer researching and signing up for several meetup.com groups in the local area. I'm excited to join some of these things. Just reading about them made me realize I put a lot of my personal interests on hold trying to be Joe Family Man all the time and following my Ws leads and her ideas for our weekend plans.

My Ds called me a couple of times while they've been away which was great. Even though I've been so busy this wknd, it was really sweet to talk to them and find out how their trip has been going. They are having a great time.

I did not talk to my W or inquire about her. Just told my Ds each time to say hi to everyone else. We exchanged a few basic logistical type of texts, but that's it for our communication.

It's been a good few days.