I'll try to make my long story short... I met my partner online, in a 3d chat forum in 2010. She's from Canada, I'm from the U.S. I went to visit her in 2011, and ended up staying. Of course, it wasn't without problems. C is divorced, two kids, and a drinking problem. I don't do well with kids, but I gave it my all....and I'm a bipolar nightmare from an alcoholic background. Her family accepted me, but if there were any disputes, they took her side. This was hard on me, because I don't have much support from MY OWN family, and I was kinda hoping I'd have some with her family. I don't think they recognized our relationship as valid, tbh. Hence, there was constant interference. It was hard trying to be a step parent when I wasn't allowed to be, and being her partner when I wasn't allowed to be the stability of our family. I'm sure if I was a man, it would be a different story. We started working on my Canadian residency, and in 2012, sent all our info to the government. It's been back and forth ever since. This August, I decided to return to Chicago to deal with some health issues. I figured that the separation would do us good...make us better people. C and I have kept in touch. We're still working on the residency, although with my recent departure, it might be canceled. There's THAT stress, plus the stress of discovering that C is drinking more to deal with HER stress. Although she says she misses me and wants me home asap...I have mixed emotions about it. There's an opportunity for change and growth, here. If I'm the only one working on things...how can we have a future? There's a whole big ball of uncertainty, here. It's scary, and I feel lonely, even though I'm staying with family. As I said, there's no support here. I'm just doing the best I can. Anyway...that's my story...short, and far from sweet. Thanks for reading.
