Dear Cary,
I'm in love with a man I work with. He's married, I'm married, both of us have kids -- hard to make it sound original. However, while I have vivid fantasies of being with him, I basically don't want to cheat on my husband, I don't want to break up my family, and I don't want to break up his family. I have a lot of respect for his wife, and I want my kids to be with their dad.
Mr. Wonderful started working for my company a few months ago. I was largely unsatisfied in my job, then he arrived and we were assigned to a project together. My work life has totally turned around, I'm working harder than I ever have and loving it, and we do really good work together. We enjoy each other's company, and both of us have commented on how well we get along for only knowing one another for a few months. We work hard, then take breaks to discuss politics, family issues, the evil of the SUV and G.W.'s war in Iraq, then back to more hard work. We're accomplishing so much for the company, and I think the boss is pleased.
There's a physical charge between us for sure. All that clichéd stuff -- the brushing of hands, feet pausing together a moment too long together under the table, makes me feel like a cheap romance novelist just to write it. It's fun, but I'm fully aware of the thin line we are walking.
To complete the scene, a description of my marriage is required -- my husband and I, even when we were dating, have always had a rocky relationship. We were together and apart a lot before getting married, kind of rushed into marriage after a particularly dramatic breakup and reunion (the dozen roses a day for a week variety), and now have two kids under 3 and a lot of added stress to an already stressful relationship. We've done couples counseling for about seven years now, and while it keeps us going, it doesn't feel like we make much progress toward real change.
My husband is intense and exciting, but also is impatient, selfish and immature. My co-worker (C.W.) is kind and generous. While I really don't want to divorce my husband, wreck C.W.'s marriage, and marry him (OK, I kind of want that on one level, but I don't want all the drama that would entail), meeting him has made me realize that kind and generous men are out there, and if I were on my own I could probably meet another one. My husband and I are really trying to improve things, both of us agreeing to put effort into the marriage, but I'm not fully into it since C.W. is always in my mind somewhere.
The easy answer is quit my job and clear my mind; however, it's a small town, C.W. and I are both committed to staying here, and it's kind of the only (and best) game in town for both of us. I plan on moving on to something else (following a calling, but that's another story) when my kids start school in four years, but for now I need this job.
I turn down C.W.'s requests to accompany him on errands during the day, but the occasional lunch together is such fun and so energizing, I'd hate to give it up, and then I'd also have to explain to him why. We have verbalized none of what happens nonverbally between us; it's chaste as can be on the surface (though I do suspect a bit of office gossip). I'm struggling to separate the work and decisions about my marriage from the existence of C.W., but should I even try? Is it all connected in my feelings? Telling my husband that meeting C.W. made me realize that I deserve better treatment would not go over well, since I still have to go to work every day. I've been fibbing a bit, saying, "I've been recognizing my own needs more lately," to explain my increasing dissatisfaction and crankiness around the house.
Does my husband deserve to be let in on what's in my head? For the record, all of my friends, male and female, agree that my husband should be contributing to the family more, should treat me with more respect and kindness and shouldn't be blaming me for everything the way he does, so I think I'm in the right in asking for better behavior from him.
Any insight you have would be welcome as I try to sort this all out.
Stuck
Dear Stuck,
You're at a crucial point in your life; you're dozing off in the driver's seat, about to run off the road, and it's my job to jump into the passenger seat, slap you silly, wake you up and put your hands back on the wheel.
It's not that far, really, to Albuquerque. You'll be there by morning. Your husband will mature. Your kids will become more self-sufficient. You'll have other crushes and other brushes with marital disaster, and you'll handle them better with practice. But right now, you have to just wake up and stay on the road. Don't blow it. You have no idea how messed up things could get. Just keep your hands on the wheel, keep your eyes on the road, and think of your kids.
It's not surprising you're tired and not thinking straight, with those kids waking you up at all hours and the job and the husband and the counseling and the work on the relationship and the secret crush. You're probably just about done in. All the more reason to stick to the basics right now, and don't complicate your life any further.
Don't be telling your husband about what's going on in your head. If, as you say, he is impatient, selfish and immature, he's not going to be any help. It would just add stress. Instead, plug this leak at the source: level with your co-worker. Tell him that you know something is developing between you two and you're putting a stop to it. Tell him you're backing off and taking control for the two of you. Then do it. Be friendly but firm. Treat him like any other co-worker. If you find that hard to do, here's a tip: Visualize how a woman would act if she wasn't attracted to him, and copy what she does.
And then put more energy into your marriage. Rather than allow yourself to drift further away, reverse that: Give it all you've got. If you work hard, you can make it tolerable and secure while your kids go through those crucial early years. Here's another idea that might help: Make a list of 10 concrete things you could do to cheer yourself up, improve your marriage and make life easier around the house, and then, one by one, work to make them happen. That should keep you busy and focused. Who knows, perhaps during the next few years, partly as a result of your hard work and partly as a natural process, your husband may mature, overcome his selfishness and impatience and become the man you would like him to be.
But if not, when the kids are older, and your individual finances are such that one of you could take care of the kids without undue stress, if you are still deeply unhappy in your marriage, perhaps it will be time to get a divorce. Just don't do it now. The kids deserve a chance to get through elementary school without worrying about which parent they're with on Tuesday and which house they're sleeping in on Thursday. They started life with two parents and they'd probably prefer to continue life with two parents. So, for now, that's your job. Keep your eyes on the road. Because, as they say in that Michelin ad, so much is riding on your tires.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Want more advice from Cary? Read the Since You Asked Directory
Shares