YOUAND: Greetings.
YOU: Where you been?
YOUAND: Learning curves.
YOU: Learning curves?
YOUAND: Yes, this blog thing is a quite new to me, and keeping up with all of its aspects has my hands full.
YOU: So what about me?
YOUAND: Ok, it sounds like you’re quite upset, angry perhaps about my being away for this while.
YOU: That's right, I feel like you’ve left me hanging.
YOUAND: Is that all?
YOU: More?
YOUAND: Well yes, I would like to know how you feel about this and if there is anything else, I’d like to know.
YOU: Like I said, I’m very disappointed that you’ve we were in the middle of a discussion about something very important to me, and that you just went away without any notice.
YOUAND: So, it sounds like I violated something very important to you.
YOU: Yeah! Mr. “Mutual Understanding!”
YOUAND: Boy your feelings are very hurt.
YOU: Yeah!
YOUAND: What else bothers you?
YOU: Are you serious!?
YOUAND: Certainly.
YOU: I just wish you had let me know what was going on.
YOUAND: Hmm . . . well, yeah . . . If I’d let you know that I was all caught up with building other sections and aspects of this site; and, that a YOULAB has begun. That would have helped, huh?
YOU: Sure would have. I didn’t even know that?
YOUAND: You have a point, a good point.
YOU: Damn straight.
YOUAND: It sounds like you’re still angry at me.
YOU: I wanted to let you know what I came up with after thinking about what I wanted in my relationship with my cousin and with my girlfriend.
YOUAND: You wanted me to live up to my end of the bargain.
YOU: Exactly.
YOUAND: It sounds like you may feel like I breached a trust.
YOU: I wouldn’t go that far.
YOUAND: Then what?
YOU: I would have just liked for you to let me know what was going on, that’s all.
YOUAND: You wanted the courtesy of my attention to something I said was important to me, and related to you.
YOU: Exactly. That was good. Yeah, that’s exactly what I wanted.
YOUAND: Thank you.
YOU: (SILENCE)
YOUAND: I mean it. Thank you for letting me know.
YOU: Yeah, but I was really pissed.
YOUAND: And with good reason.
YOU: Well, thank “you”!
YOUAND: What are you thanking “me” for?
YOU: For not saying “I’m sorry.”
YOUAND: That’s a relief.
YOU: Well, yeah . . . thanks for listening to me and what I was upset about, instead of trying to erase it all with, “I’m sorry.”
YOUAND: I am so relieved that you said that. Because, that’s exactly what I was thinking. Of course I feel very bad spreading myself so thin that I hurt myself and other people. But to just say, “I’m sorry” as a way of trying to make it all better, to me, it’s a cop out. Because it is very important to me to know your thoughts and feelings about what is going on between us. I can see how I set up an expectation of continuity and then I did not follow through. I promise that if anything like that can happen again. I’ll let you know.
YOU: I would really appreciate that.
YOUAND: You have my word.
YOU: Thanks . . . so, when can we talk about my cousin and my girlfriend?
YOUAND: Would you like to discuss those things now?
YOU: . . . Well . . . I could use a break. This has been a bit heavy for me.
YOUAND: Sure?
YOU: Yeah. We'll pick it up next time.
YOUAND: All right.
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"The final frontier may be human relationships, one person to another." -- Buzz Aldrin, Astronaut
