the ex has decided that what was supposedly "ours" is now solely "his"
disclaimer: despite the tone of this post, I'm still radiantly happy overall, so no worries.
I had a strange dream about my ex last week so I called zir yesterday and we talked a bit. We got on the subject of finances (as usual) and ze told me that ze was selling stock (which we purchased as a mutual decision) in order to "be more stable" during the transition period as zir girlfriend moves in -- stock that is apparently worth about $2,400. Now I didn't mind that zir car is worth about 6 times what mine is and zir computer is worth about 4 times what mine is and ze got most of the furniture, etc, because that was the easiest way to divide things up. But I don't think it's okay that what was "ours" suddenly became "his" when we broke up, and even though ze's liquidating assets ze doesn't plan to share a penny of it. Even though I'm in more need than ze is.
Yes, ze was our main financial support, and I didn't have a steady income for half of our marriage -- but that was a MUTUAL decision. There is no way in hell that I'd have not gotten a job if ze had expressed a desire for me to have one; I'd have felt like I was taking advantage if that had been the case. When I quit working at Wal-mart, the main reason I didn't get another job was that we had one car, and if we weren't going to work at the same place then managing our schedules would be hell. When we got the second car, zir schedule was all over the place with no steady off time, so if I had worked we'd likely have never seen each other. Furthermore, we didn't need the money and ze had told me many times that ze was happy to support me. It wasn't like I was wasting my life -- I was active and learning and creating, and ze expressed to me that ze liked making it so that I could do that. If I had known that I was living on zir charity rather than by a mutual decision about what was best for us individually and in the relationship, I'd have fucking worked and saved up for this. If I were in zir shoes I might not divide assets exactly down the middle, but in the case of the stock I'd have given half just as a matter of course -- I'd have felt like I was stealing if I didn't. If it was really ours than it doesn't suddenly become zirs. And that's what really appalls me -- apparently everything was zirs all along, in zir mind. What was I, a pet? certainly not a partner.
So, I start a job tomorrow, but I'm not making this public because I need the money ze is sharing, however begrudgingly, and I feel pretty sure that ze will cut me off as soon as ze finds out, whether I've enough to live on or not. I won't keep it a secret for too long but I will keep it to myself at least until I get my first paycheck.
Also I'm pretty annoyed that the Christmas and birthday presents which were promised to me last year never materialized. That might seem petty but they were fucking PROMISES and I shouldn't have trusted zir to do it eventually, I should have just gotten them as ze gave me permission to do. But I wanted them to feel like gifts (and buying anything expensive (more than $50) was something we always did together) so I didn't.
If you don't want to read it, the happy news is that I have a job, and the relevance is that I'm keeping it a secret from my ex for now. And I've filtered this to people whom I'm pretty confident won't feel compelled to tell my ex.
ETA: I'm not mad that I'm not getting more money and I don't necessarily feel that I should (if I felt entitled to it, I'd be fighting for it). I'm bothered by this because it shows that yet another thing that I trusted in completely was just a massive lie.