It is interesting that people form an opinion of you and that rarely seems to change, even when your behaviour and actions don’t seem to support it. I think that for some reason some of my family members don’t see the real person that I am, despite them having evidence from the things that I do. I am not sure that this has very much to do with Domination and submission, although I do feel that as I submissive I have become more confident and comfortable in being the true me. I also feel that living with the dynamic as we do, has made me better able to have the serenity to continue to behave in a way which reflects who I am, rather than being disheartened that I seem to be seen as being less caring, less thoughtful and less kind than I would like to be.
Perhaps it comes from having a family which is close but also quite competitive. They are the greatest supporters of one another against the world, but close up things can look, and feel, quite different. Today was a birthday celebration which has been imbued with underlying tension for a while. I think that it is fair to say that I have been somewhat excluded from group plans with my siblings and the ideas that I have put forward have been either dismissed or taken over and developed into something much larger and grander than I had ever planned. I have felt like there is something there that I have been missing and it has caused me some angst in trying to manage the way that has made me feel.
I have discussed it at each step with HisLordship, who’s steadiness and support are as consistent as his surprise that this is the way people who care about each other behave. I think that from my side, being able to reassure myself that I have something bigger and something that matters more than all this nonsense has been an important crutch. For the earlier part of my life I was much more likely to turn to them emotionally and I suppose that with meeting Sir this has changed. While my extended family are important to me and I would do anything for them, it is my own family with Sir which is at the hub. Perhaps the subtlety of this shift has been felt by the rest of them, although I am not sure why it would concern them.
I think that probably a lot of it has to do with control, and I suppose I have taken the control that I allowed them to have over me in the past, and shifted that to Sir. Perhaps they feel a little put out about that and it accounts for them projecting that to make it seem that I do not care as much as the rest of them? I am not sure, but the impression I have formed is that they do think that I care less, and in reality this is not the case at all. I have tried not to rise to the comments and snips and comparisons. At times I have felt like having it all out and shouting about how I really feel and what I have really done, but under Sir’s calm influence I have not done that, and have instead adapted to new plans and ideas and tried to make the most of what is still available to me.
So today, on the Birthday, it was interesting to see that actually my quiet planning and thought got results. The gift was right, the effort and thought into the occasion was right and I am pretty sure that they came away knowing that they are very important to me and to my family. However, I have been here before and I don’t think this will change anything. Somehow there is something that is making it difficult for them to accept me on face value. I wonder if is to do with need? Some people want to be needed and I suppose that I no longer need them as I did at other points in my life. However, I think the relevant thing should be that I want them in my life as much as I ever did. I cherish times with family and think that they are important.
I feel safe. I feel happy. I know what is important to me and I will fight for that. Sir will fight for me if needs be and we will support each other when things go wrong and share in the joy when things go well. But ultimately we are pretty self-contained. We don’t have a great deal of need for support from other camps. We manage things pretty much behind closed doors so that what you see is two people moving happily forward in the same direction. I think that if any of our children find happiness like this we will be absolutely delighted for them so I do find it a little difficult to work out, but life is funny and the people in it can be even funnier, particularly those you are related to.
Sir is my rock, D/s has been our tool, and more and more I see the ways that it has changed me permeating the other areas of my life. I am so much better able to remain consistent and true to myself than I was before and for me that is definitely something the celebrate. I am also more able to brush off the confidence knocks that come along through the seeming rejection from others; I have found that by remaining true to myself and to Sir, I no longer strive as much for the approval or acceptance from others, and that is a huge and very positive step to me.
I think that siblings often treat each other with a great deal of disrespect. When push comes to shove, they’ll be there for you but the remainder of the time they might be quite cruel–not necessarily by intention, but almost just by neglect. Have a great day!!
Yes it is quite strange isn’t it. I suppose the usual social boundaries just aren’t there. Perhaps you have all seen the worst of each other as well as the best and that changes something?
You touched on one thing that makes me ask a question. Please don’t hear me questioning you or the calls y’all have made.
You mentioned need. Let’s say we’re neighbors and you are in an accident and laid up. I’m going to offer to help. But I’m me. I’d rather not cook or dust the piano. Mow, fix, build, that’s me. It’s the stuff I’m good at, my comfort zone if you will. I have (and would) do differently if needed but it wouldn’t be my first choice. Therein lies the rub. I bet those things are already kept well in hand by the gentleman. The fact that I would do other stuff doesn’t bother me but it would leave some adrift. The gentleman’s capabilities might make it so that they feel excluded because he has mowed and they don’t want to wash dishes.
So, to the question. Is there a chance that this type of thing has created some of the friction? Maybe you have three older brothers who liked watching over the kid sister. They got to show their love and now there is an awkwardness that comes across as something else. I know it’s an odd thought but it’s a thing I’ve seen cause conflict before so I figured I’d pose the thought.
I think that I was probably thinking along the same lines. My parents are aware that we have faced some difficult situations recently and somehow the fact that we are smiling and cheerful and seem not to be bothered about it doesn’t add up. Of course behind the scenes it has been a different view but we tend to be able to contain it to the two of us much better than before. Obviously as a child you will turn to your parents for advice and emotional support and even as an adult I have done that a lot. My previous marriage was not a happy one and so they had a role there with me and my children that is no longer required. We have also worked really hard to blend our two families together and I think that sometimes they feel excluded. I suppose I have some new relationships that are very important to me and they have not built the same closeness. I think that this might be the source of some of the tension as they have less control and influence over me than previously.
Whether they need “control and influence” is debatable. But (assuming there is nothing unbecoming from them) everyone needs a place, a reason that makes them special. (Pardon following made up family.) Maybe your parents could stop by one weekend. Mom could teach the girls how to make her TOP SECRET FAMILY RECIPE mashed potatoes and Dad could show the boys how he trims a hedge while you and the gentleman go out pick out the perfect microwave. They get to be needed and loved even though you know the recipe and the service typically does the hedge.
What a lovely picture. I will keep that in mind 🙂
Be yourself Missy. Its liberating and scary and uncomfortable for others at times, but ultimately if you can live with yourself, you are on the right track, in my mind.
Thank you. It is also quite freeing to be able not to seek that approval in the same way I did in the past.
We all have many orbits in our lives, we pair off, then multiple, people come into our lives, then leave like comets on lonely parabolas. Families are like eclipses, casting shadows into the past, and predicting the future in the heavens. You cannot stay static in life, but those you grew up with retain an image that never wavers no matter how deep and profound you change. You are not responsible for their thoughts and actions, only for your responses. And you have His Lordship to filter through first and last and always.
That is a great way of looking at it and it makes a lot of sense. I love the image and I think that explain some of what I am feeling and what has changed and shifted for them.
To some change is fun and exciting, but to many it can be frightening evoke suspicion and even anger.
The family life can be or become like a well rehearsed play. Where the family members are the caracters. For nn years you’ve grown to know and trust each other to play your roles.
And then someone goes changing the script the lines and intention of one of the caracters. It can’t be done without having an impact on the rest.
Something, a way of togetherness, well known, trusted and safe is gone. It will provoc a reaction.
? here’s to you for rewriting your role and caracter.
?