early Sunday

I woke around 5:30 today. I tried to get back to sleep simply because I had ventured off to bed only four hours prior, but my body told me it was time to get up. I made a healthy little breakfast and I am sipping tea. In a few minutes, I will be leaving for the gym. I haven't been very consistent with an exercise routine this summer, to say the least. I have been building muscle, though, which is a step in the right direction.

Last night I was upset, and it really did me good to just cry a little and move on without bothering my friends. Mike's mother had said something that was the equivalent of ripping off a scab. On one hand, I see her point, but on the other...why do so many people ask questions about my relationship and then offer unsolicited "advice"? I don't mind commentary if I invite it, but when I make it clear that this is my life and I am responsible for the details of it, I am easily angered by negative comments about Jeremy. I may choose to not show this anger at that moment, but it's there. I will most likely try to play it off and crack a joke just to lighten the mood. This is a defense mechanism and a subtle hint to stop. Number one, if you have never met the person, do your arguments really have a leg to stand on? Number two, how does my living with Jeremy and not being married yet affect you? Am I cheating the system? No. Am I using and/or manipulating Jeremy? No. Is he using and/or manipulating me? No. So, therein lies the problem with unsolicited advice. Once again, many of you who read this offer me advice...I am not talking to you at all here. I ASK for your thoughts, and I am happy that you share them with me. I respect your unique perspectives on the situations that arise in my life. Sometimes I follow your advice...sometimes I choose to not follow it. And, finally, number three...Never make me feel unwelcome at something I am invited to by another person. If you have what I'll call a "sharp" tongue, perhaps the problem is you. It is not your place to dismiss me from an event, especially when I am in a conversation with the person who invited me. I am, in no way, a threat, nor have I ever been a threat. I may not say anything to you or the person who invited me right then, but it does not erase or validate your bad behavior.

Thank you for reading. I'm off to the gym. :-D