Just breathe

We're starting couples' counseling on Thursday.  I convinced Hat to go by asking him to at least go with me so that someone, some third party, could help me understand his reasons for leaving.  Shockingly, just hearing that he's "done" and doesn't want to try to fix things because he "doesn't want to" or because he "doesn't have the energy" isn't exactly enough of an answer for me.  So, he agreed to go to counseling but ONLY for the purpose of having a therapist help me understand why he's leaving.  He's also agreed to get a screening for depression, since pretty much everyone who knows him has asked if that is the problem.  


I'm not sure what to expect at this counseling session.  It's only our first one, so I suppose not a whole lot will get accomplished.  But, I'm still nervous about it.  I'm always nervous about stuff like that. 


In the meantime, I'm trying to maintain my happy demeanor in front of Hat as much as possible.  So far, I've been pretty successful.  And actually, he's warmed up to me a lot lately, which I think is a good sign.  On Tuesday night, we went out after he got off work and ate a late dinner.  Some time during that night, he put his wedding ring back on.  We didn't discuss it or anything, he just had it back on once we got home (we drove separate since he was coming straight from work).  I asked him about it a couple of days later and he said he put it back on because I had asked him to (back on September 23...which he didn't do until just this last Tuesday, so I don't know if I believe that's the only reason he put it back on).  And on Saturday, we went out to dinner and a comedy show and had a very nice time.  It wasn't super romantic or anything, but it was fun and at the end of the night, he was much more like his old self--at one point in time he even called me by his nickname for me (possibly out of habit without even realizing it) and before I went to bed, he asked me for a hug twice.  So, as hard as it is to pretend to be fine and happy and like nothing is bothering me, I think it's actually making things better at home since I'm not constantly sobbing. 


I am cautiously, slightly hopeful that we may still work things out.  We are still married until we're not and if we stick to the original plan to wait to file for the divorce until the end of our lease, we've got a long, long time (like until July 31, 2012) before we're officially done.  He decided in less than a month he wanted a divorce, so it's not a crazy to think that a lot can happen in 10 months.  Especially if part of the problem is undiagnosed depression on his part. Considering he has a substantial family history of it (meaning every male on his mom's side and his mom), it's a possibility.  So, I'm trying to work on getting myself prepared for the worst (divorce) but hoping for the best (reconciliation and continuation of our marriage). Who knows what will ultimately happen, but I can't at this point in time just throw my hands up in the air and say, "Oh well!"  We've got almost a year still before we'd be divorced--who knows what can happen in that time?  So, I am going to try to continue to keep my crying in check for the time being and see what comes of the counseling/depression screening.  


I refuse to give up that easily.  I'm not ready to concede defeat just yet.