Best Reasons

The last couple of days have been rough.  Mr. Hyde and I have been emailing and despite my resolve to stay strong, I can feel my insides wavering and wiggling like Jello.  The emails started out friendly enough; dealing with minor issues of paperwork with an occasional question thrown in, but then the questions got more personal.  The next thing I knew, I was being pelted with demands and guilt trips.

I called a girlfriend last night to talk me down.  I ranted and raved for about an hour until I’d rehashed all the reasons I left Mr. Hyde.  She made a great suggestion…write down the best reasons and keep them in my wallet.  Next time I feel a melt down coming on, I can just whip out the list as a reminder.  Great idea girl, but not sure I could fit a list THAT big in my wallet, so I cut it down to the top five most important.  Ok, so here’s the list.

My Kids
There is no better reason than this.  Mr. Hyde constantly harassed them comparing them to the spawn of Satan…and yes, he thought I was Satan.  He claimed my parenting skills were awful; but I don’t think his screaming, cursing up a blue streak and calling them “useless delinquents” to their face is particularly stellar parenting either.  His spared his mighty wrath for just MY kids, not his own... weren’t we the lucky ones?

My Friends
I have wonderful, supportive, and just plain awesome friends.  Spending time with them was difficult when I lived with Mr. Hyde.  He rarely came out and said ‘no’ when I asked for a girl’s night out, but I paid a ton of guilt for it later.  For months afterwards, it would be hung over my head.  I had gotten a night out, I had no right to complain about anything at home or in our marriage because I was too busy gallivanting around town to care about poor Mr. Hyde lonely at home.