Context is important
d3mons33d LJ: so what will your hours be now
d3mons33d LJ: ?
springdew LJ: 10 AM to 9PM
springdew LJ: that will kind of suck
d3mons33d LJ: what days
springdew LJ: oh. duh. Mon thru Thu
springdew LJ: at first that part looks good
springdew LJ: get the weekend
springdew LJ: get to go out
springdew LJ: but that puts me in direct competition with everyone and everything else in my boyfriend’s life
springdew LJ: and that completely utterly totally sucks
d3mons33d LJ: oh, that’s actually a really good shift
springdew LJ: yeah, except for that one thing
d3mons33d LJ: true
springdew LJ: i saw him thursday night. i won’t get to see him again until tuesday
d3mons33d LJ: damn y0
springdew LJ: then maybe i’ll get to see him thursday, but then he’s off to orlando and it’s the following tuesday …
springdew LJ: and tuesday and thursday are work nights, so that means i don’t see him until like 9:30 or 10
d3mons33d LJ: jeez
d3mons33d LJ: i mean geez
d3mons33d LJ: i ghuess it works both ways
springdew LJ: i won’t get a real day with him for like two weeks
springdew LJ: well, the good side is i get to see him, however briefly, at fighter practice tomorrow. and i get to see him at work, whenever he comes in
springdew LJ: and now i’m on days i can see more of him, not just afternoons
springdew LJ: it’s not quite the same. no smoochies, but it’s something at least
The context changes. In the first part, “see” means “spend meaningful time with” - i.e. what people mean when they use “seeing” as a euphemism for “dating”. Further down, “see” means “encounter”. A third usage that doesn’t come into play above is “spend exclusive time with”.
I am reminded occasionally that context is important. It’s true. The boyfriend and I have been trying to iron out scheduling and planning, and meeting with some success, but there’s still blips. There are going to be blips. I can’t let it make me unhappy, because scheduling woes are part and parcel of the whole poly package. You can minimize, but you can’t always eradicate.
Anyway, the context - one of the aspects we were discussing was the matter of needs. Do I need to see him, say arbitrarily, three times a week? And what kind of “see”? Do I really only need one night of exclusive time, and can do just fine with two group outings or similar? How about one or two short nights (after work) of exclusive time, if I can encounter him in situations where there can be no show of affection at all but do it all throughout the week? Would a short night suffice in the place of a weekend night?
We didn’t get it untangled and we’re not going to, until we get some field trial. I can’t know how I’m going to feel until we get there, and I’m sure that’s true of him, too. And even so, what can we do? There’s more loved ones’ feelings to consider than just each other’s and our own.
I’m not pissing and moaning. I’m not resentful. I sure as hell am not blaming anybody. It’s an adjustment, and we all of us, every single one, are going through an adjustment right now that is easy for no one.
Hey, if poly was easy, everybody would do it, right?
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