Originally Posted by
ReineD
Your point is interesting - I've seen it expressed here before. My ex used to say the same thing as well, that he felt ignored in our marriage other than as a provider. Note that he was not a CDer - my current SO is. So I took it at the time that he didn't feel appreciated by me, which is something that I didn't understand, because I felt as if I had devoted my life to him and our children. I had given up my career, I took care of the home and our kids including starting over every time we were transferred to a new city, which gave him the freedom to devote his time and energy to furthering his own career. I don't think he felt unappreciated as a man, because he did go outside our marriage a few times ... so he must have felt as if some women appreciated him.
If however you mean that most women don't actively go after men (thus making them feel special or better appreciated) in the way way that men generally are the ones to go after the females, then I dare say that most other men are in your shoes?
Sorry, but I just don't understand what you and my ex meant by not feel appreciated except as a provider. Is your marriage good? Needless to say, my 30 year marriage to my ex ended - likely because neither one of us felt special in our relationship.
Also just for contrast, I need to tell you that as a GG, I've never felt special either. While it is true that I've had men express interest (when I was young and before I was in a committed relationship), I need to say this is true of millions of other GGs. And believe me as I aged, the little bit of attention I got when I was single disappeared. lol. And so I never felt special. I certainly didn't feel as if my ex appreciated what I brought to our marriage.
So again, please help me to understand how the need to feel special, or appreciated, fits in with the CDing?