self esteem – Page 16 – The Misadventures of MHC

Sometimes, I feel that the universe is more invested in my love life (or lack thereof) than me.

Seriously.

My friends will casually ask when I’m going to meet someone & don’t even get me started on my mother. I’ve become a character in a sitcom.

...and my friends and mother care A LOT — …and my friends and mother care A LOT

I’ve been writing about it quite a bit because well, it needs to be an option eventually. I’m young, I’m pretty & despite being a general lunatic, I know I’m a good partner.

One of my dear friends is getting married & wants me to bring a plus one to her engagement party & her wedding. My beloved friend & owner of the Gleason Table will casually ask me when I’m going to meet a “real man.” My best friend the Psych Major will hint @ it & Gigi thinks I need to get laid haha. So, naturally, I need to consider the idea again. My last couple of blog posts about my future soulmate (and the criteria I’m looking for) had everyone excited. Clearly MH is ready to date! Hooray!

But I don’t want just anyone. I want the last one. I want this to be the right person for me & I want it to work. I always invest myself into relationships only to find that I’m the only one investing. I don’t want to introduce someone to the girls only for their hearts to be broken again. I don’t want to meet someone online or in a bar. I guess I just want something normal.

If anyone would like to clarify how my love life is like the novel, please contact me immediately

Dating has never really been high on my list of priorities. Love has been, sort of, as I still wonder how we are supposed to devote ourselves to someone who doesn’t share our DNA and adore them when they suck (I often write about love for this reason, it confuses the effing eff out of me), but never dating. If I’m in a relationship, it’s because I want that person & likely did for a long time. I don’t understand the concept of picking up a random person. I don’t want to add more to my “magic number” aside from the last one. So, here we are.

I guess I’ve always just focused more on my career & my girls. Men are just…meh. I’d love to have a partner, but I want the person who makes me better, who drives me, who loves me & my girls & can’t get me off of his mind. I want what my parents have & I don’t want to have to go through any more frogs (or princes that decided that their princess is in another castle) in order to find it. My daughters, my job and my writing take up too much of my time for me to really “look” for a mate and my friends and family seem concerned that I’m wasting my life by not mooning over the fact that I’m on my own right now. I’m a firm believer that when the right person comes along, you’ll know and eventually, it will all work out somehow. Forcing things by rushing from relationship to relationship or practice dates or continuing to seek out someone doesn’t work. The right thing happens organically and once you’ve found it, nothing will stop it, not even you. That’s the love that you find yourself looking for when you think no one is watching, the one you fight for even when you’ve lost the war and it’s generally not found when you’re looking for it…unless you’re looking for to get back to it, like some kind of Nicholas Sparks novel (I do so love that comparison hahaha). But I don’t want to casually date a million losers while waiting for the one. That’s too much freaking work & I have kids, a job & a career. I know it works for some people , but that someone isn’t me. Gigi goes on dates, but she’s usually seen a connection & wants to see if there’s more. That makes sense. I haven’t met anyone I’ve felt a connection with lately. Maybe I will soon. I keep telling my friend that I’m going to her engagement party solo because I’ll meet someone there & we’ll totally hit it off. Because it could happen. I’m just not going to force anything along.

So, I’m perfectly content to wait for things to happen when they’re supposed to and let God and the Universe do what it needs to do in order to make things happen for me. My love will find me when the time is right. I need to work on me some more, but it’s nice to think about and picture that right person and a nice little life. It will never be a priority, but it will happen eventually. But it’ll be with the right person in the right time. I’m sorry to disappoint everyone, but I won’t be updating my FB relationship status anytime soon. But when the man I’m supposed to be with does come along, he will have been worth waiting for.

I once wrote a blog post defending my doormat personality.

One of my oldest friends gave me crap. He told me that me continuing to be the big hearted doormat would leave me feeling empty & hollow with no direction. He was right.

Then, a Facebook friend (& the author of Coffee & Curse Words) started sharing all of the things he did to make his life better & honestly, he’s one of the happiest & most honest people I know.

I mentioned in passing that I envied him for being able to take control of his life & live it & he very succinctly reminded me that I could too, if I wanted to. After all, no one is really chained in one place. There are work arounds for everything. All we need to do is take control. He wrote a post about learning to be happy, & he mentioned putting yourself first…something I have NEVER done. All of my life I’ve lived for other people & I was left feeling under appreciated & broken & a simpering whiner, a poor role model for my daughters. I allowed it, because I thought being a doormat showed people I loved them. It might have, but it also showed people that I wasn’t an equal, to the point that people cut ties with me once I started demanding to be equal. People blamed their faults, insecurities & cruelty on me. It’s my fault you’re an asshole because I was insecure. It’s my fault you’re a liar because I might cry. I started to believe it; I was a toxic person, until my oldest friend reminded me that my life was much calmer, much more tranquil without the “friends” & how I seemed much more like my bad ass self. Maybe it wasn’t just me. Maybe they are jerks & I allow people to treat me like crap because I want so much to please people that I justify it to myself & everyone else. But what about MH? What happens to her? I think she’s pretty amazing & deserves a Helluva lot better than she’s been dealt, so she’s through taking crap.

I was going to start living & loving me.

I decided it was time for a change. Over the last few months, I started writing in a cathartic manner, letting out all of the things I held in. I often forget people read my blog, so I was writing for me, to get out all of the emotions I held onto. I’m glad that you could relate, but I was doing it for me.

Then, I thought about what I wanted for me. Yes, me. No more thinking about my friends, family, ex husband, potential love interests. ME. I came to three conclusions (well, four. But one isn’t an option, so I’m focusing on the three that are):

1. I want to work in media. I want to freelance for a new magazine, learn new skills & maybe in a different genre.
2. I don’t want to live in Windsor & haven’t for almost three years. The job market isn’t what I would want, the media opportunities are slim & my child is almost a teenager & is thinking of her future & I don’t think I would want her attending St. Clair College or the University of Windsor (before anyone jumps on me, I did graduate from St. Clair College…twice.)
3. I want my daughters to grow up in a city that is growing, thriving. Something that isn’t bound by industry or union struggles. A place that has growth.

So, when an opportunity arose to leave Windsor with my job & benefits intact, I jumped. I gave my landlord notice. I signed the dotted line & in 89 days, I will be in my new home in a new city.

This is the most selfish thing I’ve ever done & I’m thrilled. My house has been chosen by me, with no one’s approval. I didn’t ask a million people if they thought it was a good idea. I made a choice for my life & ran with it. I’m finally doing what I’ve wanted to do since I filed for divorce & that’s move away from Windsor & build my life & career in a new city with new opportunities. I’m showing my girls that you need to do what’s best for yourself, even if it’s not necessarily popular (which it hasn’t been). My friends don’t necessarily agree, but they are being supportive. I can still be a kind person, but like my friend said a year ago, I don’t need to sacrifice the best parts of me to please people. I need to be selfish & live my life on my terms for me.

So, the next 89 days will boast trick or treating, Christmas, purging a whole bunch of stuff we don’t need, donating, painting a hallway my children drew on & as 2013 comes to a close, the next chapter of my life begins & it’s one I’m excited to start.

Tag: self esteem

Baptized