A (somewhat) honest look at what it's like to be a single, Christian woman in her mid 30s in Sydney who wants to remain true to the life that God has planned for her but doesn't want to let go of her dream of being in a relationship again and eventually being a wife and mother
Showing posts with label perception. Show all posts
Showing posts with label perception. Show all posts

Monday, 7 March 2011

-283 1/2 Stuck in a box - the answer

Thanks Michelle & Miss Blasé for your comments on Day -283 Stuck in a Box. I really appreciate them. A lot. Encouragement and wisdom from both of you. *love* 

So after wondering, being annoyed rather than angry and just plain confused over this apparent perception of me. I did exactly what I supposed to do. I prayed. And I knew that I really should firstly talk to Bestest Bud to see if that was her perception of me since it was implied that I was clingy and dependent to her & Bonsai Master ( as I wrote about in the previous post ) but I also knew that I needed to talk to the friend in question and find out whether this was a story that was fed to her by someone else or if it was her impression.  


Since I knew the circumstances and events that had led up to this friend expressing this perception I was able to approach her about this and clear up why I had actually left a ministry that we were both a part of up until recently. At the time that I left I was unable to tell anyone the real reason ( I needed to make a break between my personal life and professional life ) but I couldn't do that until I had spoken to the person in question. I realised through talking to her that she had drawn her own conclusions and those conclusions came to the fact that due to an unrelated comment by Bestest Bud this friend put two and two together and came up with "Miss365 because she is single has been too clingy and dependent on Bestest Bud  & The Crew and needed to leave and their friendship is in tatters". 


Basically it boiled down to the fact that so far it's just this one particular friend's perception ( and whoever else has chosen to believe her interpretation of events over the past few years ) based on her overwhelming need to get, keep and marry as soon as possible rather than be single. I really should have thought about it a little more deeply but I got caught up in the fact she knew an event that happened between myself & Bestest Bud  that I hadn't shared with her. 


But it did get me thinking that I am going to have to either accept or rail against this perception that when you are single that it's easy to be put in the "clingy, dependent" box based on other peoples perceptions of singleness rather than your own actions. If I was clingy and dependent I would be inviting myself over to peoples places, calling them constantly, crying when no one was paying attention to me and wouldn't be writing a blog every most days because I would be too busy stomping my feet and demanding that my friends pay me some attention ;)


I can't control other peoples perceptions of singleness. I barely even control my perception of singleness as it changes so much from month to month as the desert gets longer and longer. So I'd better just accept it but ask questions and stand up for myself calmly like I did in this situation. I think I escaped this box but if she puts me back in, well meh I have other things to think about. ;)


xMiss365

Sunday, 6 March 2011

-283 Stuck in a box

Photo by posterize
GAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Well one of my worse ( well not THE worst but close ) "singleton" fears was confirmed on my 'lady date' last night. At least one ( or more by the sounds of it ) of our mutual friends/acquaintances see me as the.....

SINGLE FRIEND WHO IS CLINGY AND DEPENDENT

Yup. And the circumstances & context implies that it wasn't a one off or something that was just an 'off the cuff' kind of comment. *sigh* So not the image I have been trying to cultivate. 

Thankfully things have been so much better between myself and Bestest Bud lately that I was able to ask her how she felt ( since it was implied that I was dependent on The Crew ) and after a honest and inner knee knocking chat both her and Bonsai Master alleviated my fears and confirmed that I was not dependent nor clingy and in fact I threw a spanner in the works in our living arrangements when I announced that I was going to buy my own place.  I did this about 4 years previous when I realised that my whole world was connected to them ( work, home, friends, church ) and if they moved away I would be left to rebuild exactly like I needed to do when The Non Bachelor and I broke up.

So imagine my dismay and yes, annoyance to find out that some see me as the 'tragic, co dependent single person' even though I don't think I have actually done anything to deserve that reputation. I probably didn't announce to the world that I initiated the splitting up of the Miss 365 & The Crew living arrangements after almost 3 successful years of sharing a house. Silly me ;)  

I know I shouldn't care what others think of me and as I am typing this Galatians 1:10 comes to mind;
Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. 

But GAH! These are my friends. And I am clingy? Or is that just because they don't understand how it took time for all of us ( myself & The Crew ) to adjust to not living with each other anymore. Is the assumption that because I am the single one that somehow my life is lacking so therefore I mooch off Bestest Bud & Bonsai Master's awesome twosome life?

So readers - ever been put in that clingy box and been bugged by it ? How did you get out or did you have to get married to get out ? Or did it not matter ? 

I'm sure if I don't think about it anymore it won't matter ;)

xMiss365


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