And It's Done as Quickly as it Started

Yep, J and Jo are no longer. I have to admit, I'm a little sad. J has really matured and made some good decisions since being with Jo. I, of course am worried that she will revert to the person she once was, but right now, I am trying to hold out hope that the change is a permanent one.

What happened you ask...who knows. While I liked the relationship, I really didn't know Jo all that well. I only met him once and everything else I knew was from what J shared. A few times I had a little red flag go up in my mind, but I thought is was more from my prejudices, than an actual issue. You see, Jo was extremely religious. And not that that in itself is bad, but it seemed like all interactions, conversations and decisions had to revolve around religion. It seemed at times like an obsession.

There were also inconsistancies. Jo would say 'this' was important only after doing something in direct conflict to it. He was often 'preachy' and critical of others who did not follow a similar path. Now again, none of these behaviors were 'bad' or problematic, just things that made me think.

The last week Jo was at a revival. Each night he called J to share his renewed faith and lessons he learned each day. He was very excited and energetic with his message. As the week went on my sister said he acted more and more 'weird'. Today's call came with the message that he needed to life his life for God. There was no longer room for anyone else. He was giving of his entire self to life his life as he thought God saw fit. J said he was so odd that she is actually worried that he might even leave football. From what she was saying it sounded like he had been
'brainwashed'

I know that statement is probably offensive to some, and while I don't want to offend people, that is truly what I think. Him and J had a good thing, but his thinking seems obsessive, manic, disorganized. I tend to think that in a few days/weeks he will come back to J and claim to have made a mistake. I don't know. Maybe not. J is upset, but she actually seems more concerned for him than angry. She was falling for him, so if he did come back, I'm not sure if she would risk this again, or walk away for good.

And, you might ask, what is my mother's thoughts on all this. Well she left for Mexico for three weeks this past weekend. She doesn't know. That's probably a good thing. Honestly, based on her erratic behavior, I have no idea what her reaction will be.

So...it's a shame it had to end. Keep your fingers crossed for me that J has really grown and learned the good lessons he did instill in her. He held her to a much higher standard that other boyfriends have and I think her self-esteem did benefit from it. I hope she matured enough to see this growth for herself and hold onto it.