...I’m so pleased that you’re feeling the support around you, LT...when you’re really needing it ...:hug:...

I'll come round for Christmas LT, will bring the kids, you can sort all of the dinner etc. and we'll bring like a box of Quality Street or something. One of the big £5 ones but you can get it for £3.50 with ClubCard so we might even bring two?

The TL bought all of us presents and they are all wrapped and she made a Christmas messenger group for us all (me and kids and her one). I dont know if she will give me the presents when i leave at the weekend, its all very awkward.

...it’s all steps, isn’t it...she may give them to you but she may not think to at the time, I would think that neither of you have fully absorbed it...it’s just motions atm, fully sinking in is going to be an ongoing process...

do you think you both need to step back a bit and maybe just have a few days away from each other to clear the air and then reassess, lockdown has been tough on everyone, don't be hasty...:hug:

Yeah I think Cherie is right LT

I normally would say if it's got to the point of moving out then things are quite clear BUT I actually do agree that lockdown/pandemic stuff is absolutely ****ing mad, so it might be worth considering if it really is a total bust or if those elements are playing a big part in why it isn't working... because things are really not "normal circumstances" for anyone at the moment and as a rule of thumb, you don't really know if a relationship is working or not, if it's only "not working" under extreme circumstances.

Obviously no one here knows the ins and outs of casa LT though so I'd just say, I suppose, try to imagine the exact same situation and reasons for separating "in a non-Covid world" and would it be the same regardless? If it wouldn't make a difference then it is what it is. If it would, then might be something worth thinking about.

Yeah, it's not easy all being on top of each other constantly for months on end especially when you have teenagers/young adults in the mix as well

I would echo the extreme circumstances environment we all find ourselves in, even if you don't think you have been personally affected, its a gradual degradation that has happened over months and people are showing the strain.

but enough about you and Gav's love life :oh:

:laugh:

LT is upset, he doesn't want to hear about Niamh's dirty Irish stuff!

In all seriousness, if I was still at the bookies (where they were furloughed for months and even before Covid things were not secure at all with all the regulatory changes) during all of this, I think my relationship probably would be in a terrible state as I'm a self-confessed nightmare when finances aren't secure. Like a proper wreck. I'd probably have been stabbed in my sleep, never mind kicked out.

...maybe the time apart with you moving out will give you both that breathing time that you both need and it may be that this isn’t a permanent thing....you’ve gone through all of those changes now with the house, they don’t have to be relived...that ‘overwhelming’ will fade...and 2020 restrictions and isolations are coming to see the end as well with a vaccine....so with space, things might look entirely different for both of you...

Living in a house while it it being done up is a huge stress, add on work worries, its hard to see the wood from the trees, keep talking and leave the door open when you do leave, keep communicating

:hug:...we love you.

To many the Lockdown/furlough has put enormous pressure on people. The insecurity and uncertainty...the shortfall and money worries and being together 24/7.....its really hard.

LT :hug: I've sent you a pm. Xx