I see her picture. She is average looking. Overweight. Dresses immodestly. I've seen her body in a more intimate way than I've seen even my best friend's body. Her image is seared into my brain.
Why is she what he wanted? I ask myself, knowing full well that this will never make sense to a non-SA. I will never understand why he wanted her, or the others. But I can't stop the obsessive thoughts.
I am attractive. I have blonde hair, blue eyes, petite body. I am kind, interesting, and generous. I am honest, loyal, and smart.
But at some point, I wasn't enough for the addict. I would have been more than enough for many men, but His fix couldn't be satisfied with loyal, smart, and pretty. It had to be more. It had to be daring, risky, potent.
And to the addict, I became boring, rigid, and ordinary. Husband took on the persona of lonely devoted father just looking for some attention. He justified his actions with every new email, every new picture, every new post. His tactic worked, really well. He was skilled at his craft, an expert in seduction. In getting what he wanted.
But the wreckage he left behind can't be undone. I can't un-see the critical emails about his cold wife. I can't un-open the explicit pictures tagged with my husband's praise. I can't un-read that I wasn't good in bed, that I lacked sexual prowess, that I was less than.
He wants to repair the wreckage. He desperately wants to heal the wounds. But they are etched in my being. They haunt my dreams. I will survive, and I will thrive, and I may even love again, but I will never be the same.
Oh Eleanor, this breaks my heart in some ways, but it some ways it gives me courage and strength. I love your last line. You won't ever be the same. None of us will. But you will be stronger and more powerful because of this :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the support!
DeleteOh ouch. I am so sorry. I too and petite, blond and physically fit. I'd be enough for a healthy man. More than enough. But, I wasn't enough for my hubs, because no one was. I am so grateful that my worth isn't determined by his definition because I think I am more amazing than he will ever know. At least while in addiction.
ReplyDeleteAnd you are too.
I'm trying to understand and accept the idea that I am worthy regardless of what others think of me, and you are one of the people I look to as a good model for what accepting your divine worth looks like. I love reading your strength and conviction through this all.
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