The fog is clearing

So for the last week or so I have been IN IT.
I spent 5 days with my parents.
In that time I went from strong, clear, confident and happy to small, shamed, terrified and insecure.
I came home not feeling sure footed at all.
I came home and laid down (and I do not care if that is grammatically correct.)
Then Jerry went on his 2 week motorcycle camping vacation.
And Stephanie went on maternity leave so my work load at the clinics quadrupled.
And did I mention the puppy?
Anyway.
With all of this there has been a paucity of time for walking. And it has reminded me how much I need my walking. Exercise dvds do not fill the void.
Also food has been blech.
While at my parents, I developed a HORRIBLE stomach problem. I could not eat but oddly managed to drink.
I spent the better part of one morning trying to figure out where the gluten was coming from and could not.
Then I realized it was stress.
I was witnessing something I had always numbed myself from.
My father's shitty behavior.
He is a bully.
He is insecure.
He is a narcissist.
He is NOT as intelligent as he thinks he is.
He is STUBBORN.
He is mean.
He is judgemental.
He is cold.
He is isolated.
He is rigid.
He is shaming.
He does revisionist history.
And the hardest one of all...

He is threatened by me.

God that is hard to write and I am choking up just seeing it in black and white.
Because it is true.
And when my dad is threatened...he attacks.
Not overtly.
Just constant and undermining and with looks of disapproval.
A general vibe, if not an outright statement, that you are "doing it wrong."

As long as he undermines the confidence of the person he is threatened by he is dominant. As long as he can engage you (as long as YOU are one of his children or his minions) in an argument, he will always have the upper hand because NO ONE wants to lose to him.
I remember some innocent Monopoly and chess games of my youth that resulted in the silent treatment when he didn't win.

What I noticed last week, was, well, how little I allowed myself to notice before.
And in being aware, being present, being in it...I felt it.
I was sad and hurt and scared.
I remembered what it felt like to be a child with him.
A child with a fragile and developing sense of self...not good.
It scared the piss out of me.
Trust me, it is ALWAYS hard to see one's parents flaws under a harsh light.
What is harder is to see my own tendencies to these traits.
Watching my dad is like holding a mirror up to my worst self...and it stings.

So as soon as I got home, by day 2 my stomach had calmed down. And I stopped walking and started eating...binge eating. And thinking about dieting because I am never gonna lose this weight yadayadayadayada. And this made me eat more. This was a week ago. Since all my "people" are gone, I have been absolutely beside myself about the walking. How will I train? I am never gonna be able to do it! I suck!

So all in all, I picked up where my father left off.
I am telling myself I am doing it wrong.
So yesterday, when I really realized it (thank you Tara Brach) I stopped.
Every time I found myself judging my general suckitude, I stopped and said, "Wow, this is really hard." Then I said, "I am so sorry. I love you."

It is amazingly effective.
Yesterday I was able to avoid food as a numbing agent for the first time in a LOOOOOOONG time.
Today I am going to try the same.
I am also going to be kinder to myself about the walking.
If I get time to do it...I will. I will bring walking clothes with me and have them. If I don't, Jerry will be home in a week and a half and I will be able to pick up where I left off. I will be fine.
Better than fine.
I will be loved.