Enough is Enough!!!… or is it?

My mother once told me something that I will never forget… “Only you can tell when you’ve had enough.” Those words ring SO true to me. Ever look at a friend in what you would consider an unbelievably insane situation and wonder, “Why would anyone in their right mind keep subjecting themselves to this??” First of all, they’re probably not in their right mind. And if they are, they probably just haven’t had enough.

For example, a young woman who’s in a relationship with someone for years upon years is with a guy who has had done everything that the “I’m a strong black woman and I don’t take no shit from no man” manual (you know you have a copy) says warrants a slashed tire or keyed side panel (whatever your weapon of choice is). If you’re not into that, a good verbal thrashing with a severe case of whipping neck, rolling eyes, and threatening hand motions at the VERY least, will suffice. We all (the peanut gallery of girlfriends) would NOT understand for the life of us why she would keep going back to this dude. Of course, peanut galleries always know exactly what the issue is and EXACTLY what should or shouldn’t be done to solve it…. for everyone ELSE! We go through (and comment/cosign on) lie after lie, alleged other girl after alleged other girl, crying phone call after…. you get the idea.

In a situation similar to this with me, it got to the point we (the peanut gallery of girlfriends) all decided it would be best not to deal with such situations and just be there for her through it all. This decision came about after my mother spoke those pearls of wisdom (and some of us got told off in an attempt to confront our friend). Regardless the motivation for our conclusion in the matter, I, for one, think that’s the best advice one can get.

“Only YOU know when you’ve had enough.”

I now find myself in a similar position as our aforementioned friend (minus a few distinct details… ). I have recently had a relationship go from bad to worse before ending. This relationship was wonderful while it lasted, I guess. But, now all I can think about is all the signs I should have seen, trying to decipher if each sign was actually a sign or just things that a normal couple goes through. Then I question the whole idea of a “normal couple”. I know it’s called a “break-up” because it’s “broken”. But things break all the time. That’s why we have firemen, and mechanics, and plumbers right??? I mean, our entire relationship was long distance. Does that mean we get to bend the rules?? Anyhow, the one that takes the cake is I still entertain, dare I say, hope for, the prospect of the relationship being salvaged. Can it be salvaged?? Maybe we just need some time to get some dustbusters going in our own corners and then call for a relationship plumber and get all the crap outta there… right? Well, guess I just haven’t had enough, huh ma?