Dear T,
I was thinking about it--is it possible that what you considered my "pushing" more over the past 3-4 months or so just me asserting myself? And maybe feeling safe enough to do so with you?

I mentioned to you at one point how I had wondered if part of why we'd avoided conflict (for the most part) during the pandemic was because I was avoiding bringing things up you said/did that bothered me, how I was struggling so much at different points during the pandemic, plus some of what was going on with D, that I didn't want to risk losing your support or at least having you pull away. Not walking on eggshells so much as just not rocking the boat (to mix my metaphors).

And then I got tired of doing that or perhaps it's that I started trusting the relationship more--or both--so now I'm just being honest with you when something bothers me. But you experience it as "pushing" because I held back on it for so long. Which implies a negative. But maybe it's actually growth for me?

Love,
LT