It should’ve been evident to me when he broke up with me the first time because I didn’t compliment him on his jeans after he did his GIRL TWIRL in the kitchen… but nope!  My blind ass has fed the ego for years and didn’t even know it.

When I stopped… he stopped “loving” me.  I knew he was someone that relied heavily on compliments and accolades, so I dripped them all over him when I could muster the energy.   He would do the smallest things and launch it into some grande display that he wanted me to pat him on the back for until I wanted to puke.

I quickly started to resent this side of him.  There were never accolades, compliments, cheering, or announcements of grandeur when I did anything, but let me miss some small effort like him taking out the trash and the world would end.

I guess I’ve gotten so used to being my own cheerleader that I have little patience for the people in my life who require that I stroke their ego on the regular…  I’d rather stroke the medulla oblongata  of an angry alligator!

Unfortunately, I’ve now come to a realization that I’ve wasted 5 years on someone who simply was using me as a “helium tank to inflate their sense of self”… Looking back, I seem to attract these people pretty often.  My screening process needs to tighten up some details.  IMMEDIATELY!