The Long Awaited Update!!

So I know you've all been on the edge of your seats for WEEKS now, obsessively checking this blog, praying and hoping EVERYDAY, thinking that "today will be the day" that T will FINALLY grace us with an update. Weeeeeeell, today is your lucky day cyber friends, for today I will finish the story of "The Artist"!!
Things with the artist started out magically, but quickly (OH SO VERY QUICKLY) turned, quite literally, insane! From the very first night that he got back to Utah it was bi-polar central. I spoke to him on the phone while he was waiting to board his plane. Life was grand, he was excited to get home, and we had plans for him to come straight to my place for a late dinner. I waited...and I waited...and I waited. He never showed up. He never called. He never even texted.
The next day was filled with apologies and "I can't wait to see you"s. Yet, he blew me off again...claiming he had promised to help his dad with some yard work. Tell me cyber friends, does yard work really ever take 9+ hours? Apparently it does if you're the artist.
Finally the following evening he graced me with his presence. My cousin watched the kidlettes while I went down to see him for the first time in over ten years. The second we actually saw each other everything else just vanished. The world stopped spinning, and life was exactly how it should be. That feeling didn't last long.
Things were fine the next day. He came with us to my work party, and everyone thought he was wonderful.
Things were fine for awhile, except that he would blow me off at least once a week. Then one evening we had agreed to go to dinner with my best friend, Nug, and her hubster. On my way down to meet him at his house he texted and told me he wasn't feeling well. Ok, sure, if this was the first offense I would have just given him the benefit of the doubt, but unfortunately it was not. I certainly didn't rant or rave at him...I simply kept the dinner plans with Nug and her husband. We went to dinner, did a little shopping, and then just hung out at their place until around 1 a.m. I wasn't about to waste a kidless night after all.
Anyway...he absolutely FLIPPED when he found out that I didn't cancel my plans and sit around at home moping. Told me I was heartless, and that I obviously didn't give two sh*ts about him if I wasn't concerned that he was sick. Blah blah blah...he ended up deleting me and my whole family (who he's known for 30 years) from his facebook. Really artist? REALLY?!?!
A couple weeks go by and he's texting and calling, apologizing for his immature behavior etc. I decide to give him another chance. Again...things are going great. He spends July 4th with my family, including Nug and the hub. He adds us all back to his sacred list of friends. Things are absolutely lovely until about 2 weeks after the holiday...until Nug and I start talking about Bahamas plans.
See...Nug and her hub got married at city hall with just her mother and me to witness. They've had an absolutely insane roller coaster marriage, spending more time separated than together, and they've somehow made it through. They want to renew their vows on the beach in the Bahamas with her mother and myself there to witness once again. I, naturally, agreed to go with them. And I agreed to this before the artist ever even entered the picture. The artist, again, throws a little tantrum. I tell him that he's more than welcome to come with us, but that I absolutely will not under any circumstances cancel my plans if he's unable to make the trip. This, apparently, is not ok with him.
He lets the subject drop for the evening, and then refuses to answer my calls and/or texts for about a week...and then changes his relationship status on facebook to "single". Wow, right? THAT is how he's going to break things off? By simply changing his relationship status? Whatever...I really just don't have time for the games. So I ignore it. And I move on. He starts texting and emailing again a couple weeks later, but I was done by that point. I was done with the drama and the bullsh*t. Again...we're all removed from that sacred list of friends. And then the son of a gun AMBUSHES me at my parents house!!!
I go over to my parents house the second weekend in August and there sits the artist, hanging out with the folks. UGH! I basically just ignore him and go about my business, but when he gets up to leave he asks if he can speak with me privately. We step outside and he starts in with the apologies and nonsense again. I eventually agree that we can spend some time together, but that we were IN NO WAY "back together". I let him know that he was on probation, and that one more screw up, one more episode of blowing me off, and he was done. He comes over to help me hang up some artwork in the new place, and makes plans to come back up a few days later for my brother (supposedly his best friend)'s birthday dinner. He never shows up. He never calls. He never texts. He doesn't answer my calls. He doesn't respond to my texts. He emails me through facebook later that evening saying that it was nobody's fault, that he wasn't able to get a car, etc. etc. etc. And THEN he requests to be linked as "in a relationship" with me. Wow...ummmm deny.
He tries emailing and texting, but I just don't have it in me to even respond. I'm so far past it all. He eventually sends some nasty emails, getting pissed that I'm ignoring him. Again...I ignore them. He hasn't stopped...I got another email from him just yesterday. Again...no response.
Anyway...the whole crazy experience with the artist was good for one thing, and one thing only...it helped me to really grow as a person and quit blaming myself for everything. With TGTBT my world was rocked more than I ever could have admitted to anyone, including myself. I spent endless hours trying to figure out what was wrong with ME, why I was somehow unlovable. With the artist...I never once doubted myself. I never once asked myself what I did wrong, what was wrong with ME. I realized that his issues were just that...HIS issues, not mine. And THAT, my friends, was HUGE for me.
Until next time, much love!
~T