I started writing this early 2008 and decided I would have it automatically published in my blog years later.
Yes I have always loved your mother. But the way I love her has changed over time.
Sexual matters between parents are not easy to explain to your own children for several reasons. One of the reasons is that children do not wish to see their parents as sexual active creatures. The second reason is that you are of an age that you cannot yet judge the importance of sexuality in a relationship. And the third reason is that I do not want to come out with personal details of things what happened, or not, between your mother and me.
Let me put it this way, your mother who really is a sweet caring woman and a terrific mother rather had me hug her and lie passively next to her then loving each other in a physical way. We consumed our marriage for the first time only several months after our wedding. Our physical contact remained mainly non-sexual. At a certain moment I got the impression that she rather saw me and loved me as a sort of brother. The fact that she kisses her youngest brother (that she likes the most) on the mouth in the same manner as she kisses me, made me stronger in this idea.
Your mother always considered sex as something dirty, abject and not to discuss or to speak about at other moments. Although this attitude towards me, she somehow knew that she had to keep up appearances to others. Making public remarks, giving you and others the impression we had a blooming sex-life. She just couldn't even enjoy giving me the simplest form of pleasure: when I asked her to scratch my back, she complained that it would make her nails dirty and bought me a back scratcher.
I never could discuss this with her as she did not consider it her problem but mine and that I should solve it for myself. Whenever I tried to discuss it with her she use to get angry and more then one time she screamed at me that if I "needed to do my thing" so much that I should "go to the whores". I remember the first time this happened was when we were still living in Holland around 1990.
Then, it must have been 2000 or 2001, when we were making love one night, she ran to the bathroom to throw up. Not that we were kinky or abnormal in any way but she felt disgusted about it. A more pronounced statement of physical abjection is hardly thinkable. This made me feel dirty and sad for a very long time. I decided that since sex was not for her and that she considered it to be my problem that I at least should try and solve it for me. Because I loved your mother and I did not want to leave her, or at least not as long as you kids were in the house, I solved it in a manner that I do not want to talk about. Yet.
As I told you, I love her. But not as my wife anymore but more as a sister. I didn't want this to happen but for a good marriage you need two. What good is a marriage if the happiness of one is based upon the unhappiness of the other; and that is the situation now.
I want to be, need to be, wanted in more then just being there. I want to, need to, enjoy the happiness, experience my partner's pleasure of pleasing me. I need my partner to be interested in me in and in what I do. Just as much as it would give me joy to see my partner pleased by me and that I want to be interested in what she does or thinks. I am not only talking about sex here. It is much wider or deeper what I need, it is the communication I miss in all ways. I yearn for an intellectual connection and interest and involvement in what I do. This is something your mother cannot or want to give me. Really I tried, I think to stay in such a marriage for over 20 years proves my efforts.
Again, I really respect your mother but you must have noticed that she is not really interested in what I do nor do we share the same interests anymore. To me marriage should be more then living in the same house, raising children together and having a nice time with mutual friends and family. To me marriage also should be the bond of two people communicating in the same manner in all possible ways about mutual interests; work, philosophy and, yes, sex being a normal part of that.
In the end of 2007 I told your mother that I do not want to continue this way anymore and that in a year, if nothing would change, I would reconsider our marriage. Because I put it down to her so clearly she realized that now it had become her problem too. We went together to an expert in relation-matters where soon was decided that your mother would go alone to work on herself and that I would join the sessions if your mother wants me to. I have strong doubts that it will be enough.
What and when I decide, I do not know yet. I do know however that I do not want to grow old like this. Noone is to blame for this situation, and yet we both are. Perhaps I should have tried to correct this much sooner, but perhaps I wasn't mature enough yet to do so. I never realized that this would become such a big issue. And now, perhaps, it is too late.
Perhaps you do not understand it now, perhaps you will one day or perhaps you never will. But know that both your mother and father love you immensely, now and forever.
Yes I have always loved your mother. But the way I love her has changed over time.
Sexual matters between parents are not easy to explain to your own children for several reasons. One of the reasons is that children do not wish to see their parents as sexual active creatures. The second reason is that you are of an age that you cannot yet judge the importance of sexuality in a relationship. And the third reason is that I do not want to come out with personal details of things what happened, or not, between your mother and me.
Let me put it this way, your mother who really is a sweet caring woman and a terrific mother rather had me hug her and lie passively next to her then loving each other in a physical way. We consumed our marriage for the first time only several months after our wedding. Our physical contact remained mainly non-sexual. At a certain moment I got the impression that she rather saw me and loved me as a sort of brother. The fact that she kisses her youngest brother (that she likes the most) on the mouth in the same manner as she kisses me, made me stronger in this idea.
Your mother always considered sex as something dirty, abject and not to discuss or to speak about at other moments. Although this attitude towards me, she somehow knew that she had to keep up appearances to others. Making public remarks, giving you and others the impression we had a blooming sex-life. She just couldn't even enjoy giving me the simplest form of pleasure: when I asked her to scratch my back, she complained that it would make her nails dirty and bought me a back scratcher.
I never could discuss this with her as she did not consider it her problem but mine and that I should solve it for myself. Whenever I tried to discuss it with her she use to get angry and more then one time she screamed at me that if I "needed to do my thing" so much that I should "go to the whores". I remember the first time this happened was when we were still living in Holland around 1990.
Then, it must have been 2000 or 2001, when we were making love one night, she ran to the bathroom to throw up. Not that we were kinky or abnormal in any way but she felt disgusted about it. A more pronounced statement of physical abjection is hardly thinkable. This made me feel dirty and sad for a very long time. I decided that since sex was not for her and that she considered it to be my problem that I at least should try and solve it for me. Because I loved your mother and I did not want to leave her, or at least not as long as you kids were in the house, I solved it in a manner that I do not want to talk about. Yet.
As I told you, I love her. But not as my wife anymore but more as a sister. I didn't want this to happen but for a good marriage you need two. What good is a marriage if the happiness of one is based upon the unhappiness of the other; and that is the situation now.
I want to be, need to be, wanted in more then just being there. I want to, need to, enjoy the happiness, experience my partner's pleasure of pleasing me. I need my partner to be interested in me in and in what I do. Just as much as it would give me joy to see my partner pleased by me and that I want to be interested in what she does or thinks. I am not only talking about sex here. It is much wider or deeper what I need, it is the communication I miss in all ways. I yearn for an intellectual connection and interest and involvement in what I do. This is something your mother cannot or want to give me. Really I tried, I think to stay in such a marriage for over 20 years proves my efforts.
Again, I really respect your mother but you must have noticed that she is not really interested in what I do nor do we share the same interests anymore. To me marriage should be more then living in the same house, raising children together and having a nice time with mutual friends and family. To me marriage also should be the bond of two people communicating in the same manner in all possible ways about mutual interests; work, philosophy and, yes, sex being a normal part of that.
In the end of 2007 I told your mother that I do not want to continue this way anymore and that in a year, if nothing would change, I would reconsider our marriage. Because I put it down to her so clearly she realized that now it had become her problem too. We went together to an expert in relation-matters where soon was decided that your mother would go alone to work on herself and that I would join the sessions if your mother wants me to. I have strong doubts that it will be enough.
What and when I decide, I do not know yet. I do know however that I do not want to grow old like this. Noone is to blame for this situation, and yet we both are. Perhaps I should have tried to correct this much sooner, but perhaps I wasn't mature enough yet to do so. I never realized that this would become such a big issue. And now, perhaps, it is too late.
Perhaps you do not understand it now, perhaps you will one day or perhaps you never will. But know that both your mother and father love you immensely, now and forever.
papa
December 3, 2008.
My sweet children. It has begun and it has ended, your mother and me are in a pivoting point in our relationship. After 10 months with a relation-therapist your mother made me another vow that she would change. But I do not need vows anymore now, I have had enough of them. I need the change itself. There is a Dutch saying: "veel beloven en weinig geven doet een zot in vreugde leven". Our marital life has been full of vows that "tomorrow it's your turn that I'll please you". The way I led my life is not as I want it to be for the years to come.
The time has come that I tell you how I solved "my problem". I have an extramarital relation with another woman for five years now and I do not want to live this clandestine life anymore because your mother cannot see she has a problem. So I told your mother about the relationship I have with my paramour.
I accept the way your mother is and I realize that I cannot ask what is not there. This leaves me only two options that I told your mother: either your mother and I stay together but then she has to accept my needs too and how I solve them or we separate.
Your mother has a lot of pain because of this, and it hurts me to see her like that. I do not have any feelings of guilt or shame, but feelings of doubt I do have. Could I have avoided this? Perhaps I could and perhaps I couldn't. Again, it's hard to explain to you the problems of intimacy your mother and I encountered.It seems like your mother is working hard on accepting the situation and I admire her for that. But her feelings go up and down like a roller coaster. I hope both your mother and I find enough strength to overcome this situation.
Loving you with all my heart papa
December 3, 2008.
My sweet children. It has begun and it has ended, your mother and me are in a pivoting point in our relationship. After 10 months with a relation-therapist your mother made me another vow that she would change. But I do not need vows anymore now, I have had enough of them. I need the change itself. There is a Dutch saying: "veel beloven en weinig geven doet een zot in vreugde leven". Our marital life has been full of vows that "tomorrow it's your turn that I'll please you". The way I led my life is not as I want it to be for the years to come.
The time has come that I tell you how I solved "my problem". I have an extramarital relation with another woman for five years now and I do not want to live this clandestine life anymore because your mother cannot see she has a problem. So I told your mother about the relationship I have with my paramour.
I accept the way your mother is and I realize that I cannot ask what is not there. This leaves me only two options that I told your mother: either your mother and I stay together but then she has to accept my needs too and how I solve them or we separate.
Your mother has a lot of pain because of this, and it hurts me to see her like that. I do not have any feelings of guilt or shame, but feelings of doubt I do have. Could I have avoided this? Perhaps I could and perhaps I couldn't. Again, it's hard to explain to you the problems of intimacy your mother and I encountered.It seems like your mother is working hard on accepting the situation and I admire her for that. But her feelings go up and down like a roller coaster. I hope both your mother and I find enough strength to overcome this situation.
Loving you with all my heart papa
September 10, 2009
A lot has happened in the past year. Your mother and I went to two ladies who tried to help us in this situation. In the beginning of the year I stopped the extramarital relationship I had to give our marriage a honest chance. Your mother and I came closer to each other but there is no depth. We had a nice family vacation with all four of you but when we came back home there was still this shallowness that can be nice in a vacation but not in daily life.
So as I understood that your mother will never end our relationship and that she rather is unhappy together then the uncertain future we both have now when splitting up, I decided that it's been enough. We are going to split up and told you last Tuesday morning. I hope both your mother and I will be able to go our seperate ways in a peaceful manner.
With love, Papa
September 24, 2009
Last night we went to the notary. Your mother was assisted by her brother and I made your mother a proposal that I think is more then fair. But I have a very uneasy feeling on her reaction and her demands. I hope reason will prevail over her emotions but I fear for the worst.
love, Papa
October 5, 2009
Love Papa
October 7, 2009
Some things have changed for the better since last time I wrote. Your mother's brother called me last night and I told him how I feel misused and that I think they should be very ashamed of themselves. I also told him that I offered your mother way more then what we have together because I do not want to mistreat her and that I understand it is more difficult for her then for me to restart. If we had to pay for all the debts we have we still have a huge gap of money. I also told him that because of their greediness I lowered my initial offer and that it was either that or lower again next time. I hang up angry. He called me back a second time trying to explain to me that "it was just a start for negotiation what they proposed and that I should not misinterpret the whole thing". I replied something that he knew what I was thinking of it and they could call me with their answer.
About 9 PM I went home, went straight to bed and didn't speak to your mother at all. I didn't sleep much that night, perhaps just 1 or 2 hours and left at 7 for work again. The sadness I had the day before was gone and changed into a sort of firmness, belief in my own strength that whatever would happen I would survive even if it would mean quiting the business and having the bank confiscating our house. Yesterday in the afternoon your mother called me and really in the sweetest voice and all openly telling me she accepted the offer I made through her brother and that I really was a good father and a good husband and that she always said these things about me. I was really emotional hearing this. I didn't want to show her my emotions too much as I am not sure yet that she might not change her mind. I told her that when I would get home last night we would speak about it. We did and it went all smooth and open. I'm so relieved I cannot tell you.
Tomorrow I am going to the bank to see how to finance the whole thing and then with some luck it should be all over and done with in 4 months or so. Let' s hope for the best and let this be a good start for our lives to come.
Love, a very relieved papa
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