weekending: the Teddy Swims edition

 

Happy Monday, friends! I'm linking up with Holly and Sarah for today's blog post. How was your weekend? Mine was really good! Here are some things I loved about the weekend that flew by with lightning speed. 

I had dinner with Marilyn Friday night, then I hung out with the guy I've been seeing...and Saturday was very lazy for me with a little bit of laundry thrown in between naps. It seriously was the least productive day ever, but it was one I needed, so I'm good with how I spent the time. I was resting up for that night, since I knew Mar and I would be out late! I packed a bag with church clothes for me to spend the night with her, then I was at her house by five. We left and grabbed an early dinner at Chick Fil A before the concert. 

I dressed as coolly and comfortably as possible since it was literally hotter than Hades outside, and this was what I came up with. The sandals felt great since I knew we'd be walking a long way to the venue and to our seats. I definitely made the right choice in what I wore! 

Chris met us for dinner! I wanted him to meet Marilyn; we sat there for about an hour before we left for the concert. I'm glad they got to meet. 

We got extra large sized drinks (and water) to stay hydrated, then we found our seats. 

The opening act was a man from Ireland named Cian Ducrot; he was really good! His first few songs made us laugh really hard, but I don't feel comfortable mentioning the titles of them here since this my blog is PG. 🤣 He was burned in a past relationship, and chose to write songs about the trauma he suffered from that; let's just say that we both related to all the songs! 

We were sweating like crazy, but we were ready for Teddy! 

Friends, this was an incredible concert, for sure the best I have ever been to! His voice is beautiful, and for part of the concert, I was brought to tears between his voice and the lyrics to the songs he was singing. Does singing do that to you? It has the power to bring out all the emotions I'm feeling, even if I don't know I'm feeling them at the moment. I loved the name of his tour: I've Tried Everything But Therapy. There was a "group therapy wall" where you could write whatever you needed to write that you'd brought with you to the concert. 

It's hard to read, but I wrote, "all the emotions of my divorce". I don't know why I've been emotional about this lately; it's not like anything has changed, and it's not that I miss him at all, because I don't. It's just that I'm in this weird phase of resenting my singleness and also not wanting a relationship. But when I'm alone, I get lonely, so I keep going on dates and meeting people. Chris is someone I'm interested in, but he's about to be moving further away from me. That bothers me, not that I'd ever hold it against him, it just seems like the timing isn't great. I don't know how it will work with that distance, but it does make me a little sad. He keeps saying we'll make it work, so we'll see what happens. 

I want to believe that, but I'm in a weird phase of not believing any man I meet. I've been lied to so many times that it's hard to get past that, you know? So when I come across one that says something direct, like he's not looking for love, but for a fling, I respect that. Not that I want that, because I don't, but at least he has the brevity to say that, you know? No pretenses! That is what I need. Chris seems so good...he told me that he was catching feelings for me, and that he's second guessing his decision to move further away. I just keep thinking of what good old Mel Robbins says, about how actions are words in motion. I need the action of what a man says. 

I didn't mean to put all of that out there today, but there it is. Life is weird, y'all. I love it and hate it, all at once. The good far, far outweighs the bad, though. I just like to be real here and not pretend that everything is always perfectly fine, because I definitely struggle a lot. While I'm on the subject of dating, I'll talk about a few pet peeves of mine as well, pertaining to that. I talk about things like this with friends who are in the same situation as me, so why not share it here as well? It might shed a little perspective in how you talk to friends who are in a similar life situation. 

Now that I'm divorced, it's like people think I don't have a brain. They tell me things like, "be careful", or "don't meet him at his house for the first date", as if I'm the dumbest person to ever walk the earth. What in the world? People are also quick to offer advice or offer their opinions, and quite honestly, I just don't want them. What I do want are well wishes and encouragement! I need that and don't want or need the unsolicited advice. I also don't like when people tell me I'm not ready for a relationship or to take things slow, because I know that as well! And nobody really knows what I need or don't need except for me. I don't know why I'm spouting off today about all of this, I guess I was in a mood when I wrote this on Sunday. My friend was texting me about a guy we both know and dated, and I got pretty fired up about what she told me. I'm the friend who gets mad for her friends! 

That is a lot of words and feelings for a Monday morning blog post, but I guess it feels good to say it out loud here. You all are so supportive of me, and I greatly appreciate that. Thank you for listening here today, friends...and for always reading my blog and being so kind to me. You mean the world to me. Tell me about your weekend; what was a favorite moment? Please take my mind off all this and tell me! I'd love to hear from you today. Love to all! 

Jenn