Reply Sent
Well, thanks to sitting down and getting my thoughts out on all of this laid out last night, I was able to get a reply to my parents. I went ahead and wrote it to both of them, since this has been something that my mother has brought up for ages, so I figured that I may as well deal with this once and for all. (Well, as once-and-for-all as things can be with parents. ;) )
Main points of the message back to them:
By the way, to the folks who did respond to that last entry, thank you. :) I will get some more individual responses to them soon. For right now, though, I'm tuckered out, and need to get to sleep.
Main points of the message back to them:
- Thanked them for being concerned. Hey, they ARE only doing this because they're concerned about me.
- Agreed that my father and I don't generally discuss much of what's going on with me, and that it's something that we can work on.
- Conceded that, yeah, it would be nice to be in a life relationship, but it just ain't happening right now.
- Disagreed with both of their assertions that any life relationship would be better than none at all, noting that I have tried to push and change myself for the sake of relationships before. If it's going to happen, it'll happen; if not, I'll be fine alone.
- Noted that while my past failed long-term relationships have made me more cautious, and actually caused me to raise my standards, they have not caused me to no longer consider life relationships.
- Informed them that, if and when I do bring a life partner home, she won't be male, even though -- with my odd history of apparently being more attractive to men than women -- it sure would make it easier to find a life partner if I wasn't straight.
- Discussed my relationship with Karl. This is my first time openly acknowledging and discussing this relationship with them. I felt it necessary, though, as an example of how pushing and changing myself in order to please someone and be in a relationship, even of my own choice, is damaging to myself, and unfair to the one I'm with.
- Reminded them that they should feel some pride in knowing that they raised someone who is independent and can stand on his own two feet.
- Let them know that I stand by the choices that I've made for my life, past and present, good and bad, and am OK with who I am as a result, and I hope that they are as well.
By the way, to the folks who did respond to that last entry, thank you. :) I will get some more individual responses to them soon. For right now, though, I'm tuckered out, and need to get to sleep.