E – sees the patient thriving and feels great happiness
When I first starting seeing E a few years ago, my world was unraveling – my sixteen years with S, the city of New Orleans on shaky ground, my love affair with N having gone south, and some of my friendships exploding and new ones imploding, and I was a mess, let’s face it, a pure mess. And E was the only one who provided the salve I needed to weather this rough patch – she taught me to be kind to myself, and to forgive myself, and to let people go or prioritize them in my life according to their ability to be kind to me and forgive me.
But the main thing that E taught me was that I have a profound capacity to love, and that is what I have brought to each of my relationships. She told me the next man was going to be my great love – and I said to her, it might be woman, and she said, no matter, that I would see that the next person in my life would be my great love.
I ran into her today, walking Loca, and she was with a new colleague helping her apartment hunt in our neighborhood – I said E, you have to come inside and meet someone, I’m in love! Both women followed me through the house and back to T’s office (which she is still painting!!!!) and I said, here is my profound love, the one you told me I would find next!
E was SO HAPPY – she squeezed my hand and kept saying, Oh Rachel, in that way she always did during our sessions. My therapist left knowing that her patient had cycled through the storm, and found her own version of heaven on the other side – and she was happy – both are happy.