400bhp
Guru
Silly me, thinking this was one of the respectful corners of the internet. I assumed, wrongly as it turned out, that people who remembered the story would understand and that those who didn't would either accept it as reasonable and significant, or go and look at my earlier posts to find out for themselves. My mistake. I guess I'll have to repeat it, just for you.
The highlights: We've been together for almost ten years. During that time she's been diagnosed bipolar with OCD traits, has had to deal with the loss of three close family members, including the sudden and unexpected death of her stepfather (who'd actually raised her - effectively her dad) about a month into our relationship, and had to watch her mother's decline into dementia at only 50. These and other traumatic experiences, including the cycling accident that left her brother in a coma a year before we met, had left her disaster focussed and afraid of another loss - one more, especially me, could have easily been the final straw leading to a full breakdown or worse. Together we've worked through all of this, to a point where she feels able to give me something she expects and intends for me to use while cycling to work. It's significant.
What kind of "man" would say "up yours, I'm going to do what I like anyway and I don't care how you feel"? I certainly know what I'd think of him.
It was 2 acronyms used on an internet forum. Don't take it personally.
Apologies if you took offence.