After my melancholy posts last night, I went back to my therapist today, who I had not seen since Thanksgiving thanks to finals and the holidays and her overbooked schedule. Spilled everything, from my constant up/down emotions, my need to somehow cram the “spare” time full of activities now that I’m not in school, worry/regret that I’m making a mistake by taking time off, concern for Pumpkinhead and my Dad (who is now seriously manic), my relationship with Blue Eyes, all the drama with Chapin, my weird dreams, etc. Know what she said? “By God, I think you are finally getting it!” And hearing her describe it, I think perhaps I am. I’m starting to set boundaries and to push back when someone does something that I find unacceptable rather than just stuffing it down. I’m still codependent as hell, but I’ll save the details for my “whine” blog. 
But at least I’m recognizing more of what is good for me and what is not, what I want and what I don’t. And that is surely progress.
Tomorrow night I start an 11-week support group on Wednesday nights. It is designed to help individuals work through the issues associated with divorce. Each seminar is taught by licensed counselors and covers topics such as anger, self-esteem, and boundaries.
1 Designing a Blueprint for the Process of Reconstruction
2 How to Manage the Anger Effectively
3 Small Group Discussion
4 Examining and Repairing the Foundation of Self-Esteem
5 Rebuilding the Framework by Setting Healthy Boundaries
6 Small Group Discussion
7 Forgiveness Comes with a Lifetime Warranty
8 A Closer Look at Key Elements of Highly Effective Relationships
9 Small Group Discussion
10 Sharing the Fruits of the Spirit of your Labor in Healthier, More meaningful Relationships
11 Successful Single Parenting
I attended one last fall but couldn’t attend the whole series because it was on a night I had class. The focus of this group is much different than my DivorceCare group (which I will still attend on Sundays, especially because Pumpkinhead wants to go to his class) and is also a larger group. There are probably 75 people at this group which makes small-group discussion much more effective and also makes it more likely that I will connect with people my age. It would be nice to meet some other moms with kids for playgroups and get-togethers. Hopefully the focus of this group — rebuilding yourself so you can have healthier future relationships since only YOU are the common factor in the bad ones — will serve me well and I will be in a better place come summer.
