Three Days

There is a Pat Green song called "Three Days" and one of the memorable lines from the song reads "love can do a lot of healing in just three days." I like the song and that idea. It's a version of the old maxim that time heals all wounds. I need to believe both ideas right now because it's been a rough three days and I'm ready for the healing.

Last Friday my partner of 9 years began the end of our relationship with a terse e-mail announcing that she couldn't come home for the weekend. I next heard from her on Monday morning --- three days later --- when she called me from the train and we had one of those awkward conversations that you dread from the moment it begins. At the end, she had left the relationship and our family. I think she believes that we were heading for this for a long time and that she is just the one of us who had the courage to call it off. I think that's she's been unhappy for many more years than I have known her and that though JT and I want to try to help her heal, she just can't face the honesty that requires. So she's telling herself that this is best for all of us and she's breaking the ties that bound us.

Soon, we'll have to tell our little boy that his Mommy is moving out of his home. I cannot even fathom how he will respond to this rupture in his world. I imagine that he sees it coming. Mommy hasn't been around much in the last three weeks and when she has been here, she's been crabby. But knowing it in your mind is not the same as knowing it in your heart and I ache for the pain this will cause him.

My Dad keeps telling me to take one day at a time. That's good advice and I'm doing pretty well with that method. My family and friends have been an absolute safety net. My son amazes me with his wisdom and love. I know that he and I are much loved and that we are not alone. And I keep telling myself that someday I'll have three days that will bring a little healing.