a happy ending

I have missed you too Lyra, as I am know has Marlowe. Hearing from you again has been wonderful - to know that you have no regrets, to know that you enjoyed it all as much as us and, most of all, to hear that you are happy.

We were always sad to let Lyra go but so excited at the prospect of her finding a potential for love in a way that Marlowe and I shared it that this sadness was always overwhelmed by excitement and hope for her. I knew it would be time limited and in many ways I think that was best for me. As Lyra commented, I had a lot to process in entering into my first polyamorous relationship (I have gotten over a lot of hang ups along the way, look I can even use the words....) and I think I got so lost in overthinking some bits that I missed some of the fun by worrying about what was going to happen afterwards.

I don't think I got at the time how much I was dealing with and how fast it was all coming at me. Because our relationship felt so natural, I entered into many of the experiences with abandon. The cost of this was having a lot to deal with, often the next day, particularly as I have a massive tendency to overanalyse. The relationship left me needing to redefine my sexual identity, explore my feelings towards Marlowe and his feelings towards me. It left me having to think about what love meant to me and whether I ever wanted to engage in a polyamorous relationship again.

The conclusions to all this thought? Actually the experience had changed very little for me other than arriving at one vital conclusion. Marlowe and I both have a great potential to love and we can both love others without it damaging our relationship - indeed our relationship has been closer and stronger than ever after our relationship with Lyra. I have come to the conclusion that this was a wonderful, loving, fabulous experience and I only wish I had stopped looking at my navel as much and enjoyed every second a little more (hindsight is a wonderful thing). And would I do it again? In a heartbeat.

I never saw Lyra as the other woman interestingly (I think she worries almost as badly as me - maybe that's why we got on so well) and I never feared what I thought I might fear in that situation; that Marlowe would leave me for Lyra. If anything, the more irritating problem was that I almost felt I should worry about it - that there was something wrong with me and my relationship with Marlowe that meant I didn't worry about it! I am aware though that my frequent need to stop and figure out what was going on for me meant that I could on occasions be withdrawn or distant in a way that may have been stressful for both Lyra and Marlowe. I hope that this wasn't too badly the source of Lyra's worry.

Overall, I have only one regret - that I didn't throw myself into the experience with more passion and more singlemindedness from the beginning.

Ah well, I will next time.

Thank you Lyra, for teaching me how to love in a broader and more wholehearted way than I ever thought possible. I miss you too and I look forward to rebuilding a friendship and hopefully to building a friendship with your new love.