I suppose it should be obvious from my writing over the years but it should be stated here. I am not a beta. Neither am I a traditional alpha. I do believe in a genuine equality in that in any partnership, both parties have to be happy about any given direction and that in any particular detail of that partnership, one or the other of the partners is likely to have more experience or feelings invested, or simply passion for a particular issue. It is likely that in that issue that partner will prevail, but not in all, and not in all things sexual, or all things family etc.. That is where I come from.
So, do I believe that Sue will or should prevail in all things sexual. No, or if so only for a very limited time. In the same vein, I do believe that Steve has given a commitment here and he should honour it for as long as he can do so. This is not his first rodeo in this arena. He knew enough going in to say no or to modify his acceptance. He not only didn't do that, he instead gave his total acceptance of Sue's requests without truly knowing where her boundaries were. Caveat Emptor.
Sue asked the question, Is Steve truly a beta? So far, in all his writing, he has not truly been one. A person who sways that way sometimes, but one who wants to always have sight of the escape hatch. Just in case. I don't believe that makes him an alpha previously or a suppressed one now. We probably all exist on a grey scale here, and maybe even on differing issues. What does a beta feel like as this starts? Does a beta look around and think, Wow, I'm finally home, this feels great. Or does a beta continue to fight his 'natural' feelings until they become ******* and blindingly obvious. Or something else. I am simply not qualified to even offer advice here. I would say that so far over the years, and right now, Steve does not seem to have exhibited wholly beta characteristics.
Right from the beginning, Steve's narrative has never been about a man who worries about losing his wife. Even when it nearly happened at first and then later with Robert, Steve never really panicked in that direction. This is about a man who worries about losing his sexual relationship with his wife, his status within the partnership. He wants to play at being the beta from time to time, but he does not want to be irrelevant in Sue's sex life. The problem here is that seems to be exactly what Sue is trying to do, what she said she wanted to do and what Steve agreed she could do. We only see Steve's narrative of this struggle, it may be that Sue has an equal or even greater struggle to maintain this position, especially at the beginning. Her desire to leave Steve to his own ends on Wednesday meshes exactly with her feeling following the fateful skiing trip of previous years, where she didn't want to break the spell she had created in that time.
With such apparent gaps in their expectations, they really need their discussions, but I would say not quite yet. Both need to settle a little into this year first. Perhaps Sue was wise to say monthly. We shall see.
So, do I believe that Sue will or should prevail in all things sexual. No, or if so only for a very limited time. In the same vein, I do believe that Steve has given a commitment here and he should honour it for as long as he can do so. This is not his first rodeo in this arena. He knew enough going in to say no or to modify his acceptance. He not only didn't do that, he instead gave his total acceptance of Sue's requests without truly knowing where her boundaries were. Caveat Emptor.
Sue asked the question, Is Steve truly a beta? So far, in all his writing, he has not truly been one. A person who sways that way sometimes, but one who wants to always have sight of the escape hatch. Just in case. I don't believe that makes him an alpha previously or a suppressed one now. We probably all exist on a grey scale here, and maybe even on differing issues. What does a beta feel like as this starts? Does a beta look around and think, Wow, I'm finally home, this feels great. Or does a beta continue to fight his 'natural' feelings until they become ******* and blindingly obvious. Or something else. I am simply not qualified to even offer advice here. I would say that so far over the years, and right now, Steve does not seem to have exhibited wholly beta characteristics.
Right from the beginning, Steve's narrative has never been about a man who worries about losing his wife. Even when it nearly happened at first and then later with Robert, Steve never really panicked in that direction. This is about a man who worries about losing his sexual relationship with his wife, his status within the partnership. He wants to play at being the beta from time to time, but he does not want to be irrelevant in Sue's sex life. The problem here is that seems to be exactly what Sue is trying to do, what she said she wanted to do and what Steve agreed she could do. We only see Steve's narrative of this struggle, it may be that Sue has an equal or even greater struggle to maintain this position, especially at the beginning. Her desire to leave Steve to his own ends on Wednesday meshes exactly with her feeling following the fateful skiing trip of previous years, where she didn't want to break the spell she had created in that time.
With such apparent gaps in their expectations, they really need their discussions, but I would say not quite yet. Both need to settle a little into this year first. Perhaps Sue was wise to say monthly. We shall see.