ok, so her two concerns she voiced are:
1. “I don’t trust her and 2. will never want another baby" and that is what I wanted to talk about a bit with you.
countermart said:
Lovelylady:
Question 1: Do you trust her?
Bottom line, yes I guess I do... but at the same time I acted like I did not trust her
Your behavior with her was not in alignment with the truth of your feelings for her then. This undermines the success of a relationship.
May sound obvious, but when we are in the habit of not trusting
anyone, and then move towards trust and intimacy with someone, we do not always know how to relate authentically and in alignment with our true beliefs and feelings in relation to that person. Good thing is, behaviors are choices and every moment is a new opportunity to choose differently.
countermart said:
Question 2: Do you want to have another baby?
(from your answer above- I moved here as it actually applies to this question.. ) and I also made it clear that I was not ready for a baby and those “big picture” things overthrew the relationship.
No, not yet. Perhaps in the future, .... She would say your maybe means “never”. But my “maybe in future” was actually “maybe in future”.
Countermart
I asked YOU if
YOU wanted another child - separate from "with her", as I think it is important to be clear on what you want for your own life as a Man separate from your relationship with her.
The following is just my take on it... I know you will take it with a grain of salt as you know her and your relationship better than anyone here ever could...
She knows that she wants a family with a man she loves and she knows within herself that that aspect of her femininity cannot be fulfilled without that man. She wants you to be that Man. She has chosen you. For her to have that kind of certainty of purpose and vision relationally with you is a profound experience for her as a Woman. Hence the love and wanting to stay and make-up.
To hear you say you "don't know, maybe, maybe not" most likely just sounds weak to her. I don't mean this in a mean way, but just in a "reality check" way. You are a man,
HER Man. How can you not know your own mind? Not YOU! Not HER man ?!!! How can you not know your "yes" or your "no"??? You are supposed to be LEADING this thing, dammit. Lead it with a yes, or lead it with a no, but dammit LEAD. Hence the arguing and her power struggling with you - she cannot feel your certainty of purpose and vision in the critical way she wants and needs feel loved by, and to show her love for, her Man. And that is where her frustration comes from.
Is it logical? No. Logically she knows all the things you say... your reason's why you "don't know", but emotionally, primally, none of that really carries any weight to her. It is what it is.
The fact is there is a bioligical imperitave here. I get the sense that you treat this as "her" problem, rather than a problem you have together. That leaves her feeling that you have abandonded the relationship in a critical area. It sounds like you are not even meeting her equally in partnership in addressingthis as a joint, relational concern, - much less in a role of leadership in this critical area of your relationship with her.
It is a real genuine, concern. Limited time for a woman to be able to be a Mother is REAL.
Other thoughts:
Sometimes we can have attraction and genuine true deep love and respect for our partners, but just want different things out of our lives, the relationship itself, and our future "pictures" are very different.
No one is wrong, manipulative, or "bad" - it is just that the timing of the life paths is off for the building of a future together. The relationship goes as far as it can and it is the loving thing to let each other go and release each other to move forward to each fulfull those dreams away from each other.
It can still be real love and it can still end, it is just the manifestation/action of the loving ceases the being together and moves to to the freeing of one another to be away from eachother.
I hope this helps you in some kind of way...
-LL
P.S. Also worth mentioning...Also, you brought up the dynamic with your ex-wife. While it is important to be aware of things you do notwant repeated in your new relationships, it is also important to not put your ex-wife's mistakes on to your future relationships. IMO, I think the lines are a bit blurred here for you, as you have not fully processed your marriage and divorce before moving into this relationship with your girlfriend.