There's A Female Astronaut In All of Us

So the other day I was watching a repeat of Oprah (I know, I know...but there really was nothing else on - more on my Oprah view another time) and they were talking about the female astronaut, Lisa Nowak, now famous for driving cross-country in a diaper to confront her lover's new woman. Sure, the situation was funny and everyone (myself included) found an opportunity to deliver some clever one-liners at her expense (I don't care what yall say, that space weed shit was funny, dammit!!), but then a lady called in and provided a totally different perspective that I'd never thought of before.

She was saying that while wearing a diaper seemed crazy to many of us, it was perfectly normal for Lisa because it was a situation she was used to. She also said that the bigger picture was that this woman cared so deeply about someone else that it drove her to irrational behavior, and it's something that could happen to anyone. The difference is that most people usually have a friend or a strong conscience that stops them from completing the irrational action. I have to agree.

Whether its:
- checking your significant other's email/phone/personal communications, or
- constantly checking on your mate to see where s/he is and what they're doing, or
- hitting/verbally abusing your partner, even if it's during a heated argument,
irrational behavior really can happen to any of us, if we don't hear that voice (or friend) that says, "Wait a minute, what are you doing?"

These may not seem to be to the magnitude of Lisa Nowak's actions, but if you're behaving in a way that is against your moral standard, then it's irrational. I think we've all been in romantic situations where we haven't measured up to our personal moral yardstick - the difference is that we didn't get caught and talked about on national media.

I was talking to a guy friend of mine the other day about past relationships. He admitted that he'd been in a relationship once where he'd gotten so mad at his girlfriend that he pushed her to get out of the apartment and she fell. That was his Female Astronaut Moment - the loss of reason and acting outside his usual self (he's one of the most placid people I know).

I've had my Female Astronaut Moment too: in relationships my big thing is unconditional trust. I give it, and I expect it. If my guy tells me XYZ, I take him at his word and accept that he's telling the truth. No doubts. No questions asked. When doubts and questions start entering my mind, I know a Female Astronaut Moment is approaching. It was that way with First Love; unconditional trust until one day, I just began doubting and questioning everything. I started feeling like maybe he was trying to play me (paranoia). I listened for inconsistencies in the things he said. That was my Female Astronaut Moment. The temporary loss of the rational SimplEnigma who trusted her partner. I knew it was time to do some soul searching.

When your Female Astronaut Moment hits, it's time to reevaluate your relationship...