AM I Crazy For Trying?

[frozensprouts]

Hi
My dad and friends say I should just divorce him. My mom and one friend say I should stick with it and try and work things out. I don't know what to do anymore, and I am feeling sick, worn out, emotionally drained and just plain tired from dealing with this.
During the first week of July, I complained to my husband about the amount of time he was spending using Facebook chat to talk to a girl he works with ( he is in the army, and he is her supervisor where they work). He told me he would stop, but wanted to take her out for coffee so that he could explain to her why he couldn't "chat " with her anymore online. I didn't like it, but he did it anyway.
A few days later, we were eating supper, and he put his fork down, looked at me and said ' I can't do this anymore", and he left. he came back a few hours later and told me that he had been talking to a friend who told him that all marriages go through times like this, and he should wait it out. The next day, two of our kids ( we have three, two of whom are autistic, the oldest one, who is 11, also has fibromyalgia) went to the local water park with friends, and we took our son shopping. we had a nice day, and we came home and things seemed okay, not great, but okay.
The next day, he got an email from that girl asking him to come over because she had a "problem", and he asked if I would mind if he went. I said yes, but he went anyway. five hours later, he came home and I was furious. That's when he told me that he didn't feel the same way about me anymore, that while we had a lot of fun when we were together, things weren't the "same", and that I was too controlling. Then he said he wanted a separation, and he left. He had to come home the next day to work on an online course he was taking, but left at five. This pattern went on for a few days, and he finally told me that he was staying at that girl's house sleeping on her couch. A few days later, he left his facebook open, and I found a letter from him to her about how much he "loved her", etc. I freaked, and he told me that they had only gotten involved romantically a few days after he told me he wanted a separation, and that he had feelings for her. My dad called right at that time, and I was so upset that i told him what happened- he got angry and called the base social worker who he knew I'd been to see for advice about what to do, and her voice mail indicated that if it was an emergency, that the caller should call the base padre. My dad called back to say that if I didn't report what was going on to the base padre ( what my husband was doing is inappropriate conduct and abuse of authority- in the Canadian army he could be demoted, lose his job, be fined or even go to jail) , he would. He gave me an hour to figure out what I was going to do, so I talked to my husband and told him that he had to stop seeing her, and he could stay and try and work on things or leave. He chose to stay. i told him that if he didn't stop seeing her, i would report him, and he said he would stop. He sent her an email( I didn't get to see it) telling her that they had to stop seeing each other, but she kept sending him facebook emails, chats, etc. T
hings kind of stabilized, and I made an appointment with a marriage counselor. we saw her, but he didn't like her. On the way home , he told me that he wanted to do a formal separation agreement and move out- and yet, he still stayed in the room he had made up for himself in the basement. A few days later, I was out walking with my kids, ( he had gone out, as he does most evenings) and we walked by a house, which turned out to be hers, and he was in her driveway talking to her and some other guy. The kids saw him, and went running up to him calling "daddy"! It was horrible! I asked him if this meant that things were definitely over, and he said yes, but he asked if he could walk home with me and talk. I called him some rude names, he got angry and said that "even though we aren't together, you won't let me have any"friends" ( friends, sure, I just bet that's what she is) .
He said he wanted to think about things , and asked if he could come by the next day to talk, and I said in the afternoon, and to bring some coffee. He did, and we talked a lot, he told me that I was too controlling, never did what he wanted to, that there was never enough money, and a whole bunch of other things that seemed to be merely ways of justifying what he was doing.He did agree to try a different counselor, and then left for the night.
The next morning, he came back really early ( we had to take our oldest daughter to a city in the neighboring province for a medical appointment at the children's hospital), and he told me that he wanted to move back into the basement, but still wanted a separation agreement, as he is due to be deployed in early November for seven months, and says things won't be fixed by then. I asked him what we were ( just waiting until time had passed and he could apply for a divorce, were we working on things, or were we just waiting to see what would happen- he said we were waiting to see what happens)
We drove our kids to the appointment, and he had the music blasting the whole time, which made talking impossible. When we got home, he made some remark about how " I guess the only way we don't fight is if we don't talk", and that he was going out again for the night. He told me that since we aren't "together", I have no right to know where he is, even though he took our vehicle and left no number in case of emergency.

The next day when he got home, he asked if we could talk ( I didn't want to, as it was really hot, and I had just gotten back from waling three miles there and back with our three kids and our neighbor's daughter to the store to get our daughter's new prescription filled and some groceries- he was ticked, as he said when he got back no one was home, and there was no note, and he had told us he could take us to the store- I'm sorry, but it was supposed to get really hot that day and I just wanted to be out of the house) . All of a sudden, he wants to have a cellphone so I could reach him if there was an "emergency" ( but he won't leave a number where he can be reached if there is an emergency- that would be "controlling" him), and a bunch of other crap. He then went on to tell me that most married people don't tell their spouses where they are going if they are going out for a few hours ( apparently, he took exception to having to give me the phone number of the poker buddies house that he would go to to play cards sometimes when he was going to be out for about six or seven hours).
I was so ticked that I called my mom and dad's to gripe to them- my mom told me not to get drawn into any arguments with him, but just nod and say " I see" when he talks- that will throw him, as he really is just looking to argue. I called a friend for coffee, and we made plans to go out the next evening, and I asked him if he could stay at home to watch the kids ( which he hasn't done in a long time) . he said that was fine, and at about midnight, he told me that it was too hot and he was going out for a walk- he came back the next morning at eleven ( I can just guess where he walked to) .
this all brings me to tonight, when I was really looking forward to going out for coffee with my friend to somewhere with air conditioning ( it been 33 degrees Celsius the past few days- hot, hot, HOT!- I took the kids to the local pool this afternoon, so they could cool off and have some fun) , and at supper ( he still eats supper with us, which I cook- he does nothing to help out around the house- he is almost always either out or in the basement on facebook or the internet) he asked me if I was still going out, because he had been invited to a get together with people from the platoon he used to work with and he wanted to go. I was so angry! My friend called, and we went out, after hearing all about how he thought that we could work something out where we could both go out ( I could go and get a coffee, bring it home and sit in the house with my friend to drink it so he could go out- it almost 40degrees Celsius in the house and not much cooler outside, and I'd have the kids climbing all over me- I just wanted a few hours out with a friend, which I do maybe three or four times a month, if that- he's been going out every night lately). I kind of caved, and came home after an hour, and he went out to the get together-it's after one in the morning now, and he's still out) .
Am I crazy or what?
All this is so unlike him. he spends very little time with our kids, goes out almost every night, and does nothing t all to help out. The only thing that I can see that he has done to try and work on things is agree to go to this new counselor, but nothing else. He claims that he is trying to work on things by being around the house more, trying to spend a bit more time together, and getting the separation agreement so i won't worry about money while he is gone)
Is it just me, or has he turned into an irresponsible ass? Even so, I still love the guy ( right now, I don't know why) and would be willing to work on things. he seems to be considering this some kind of "second teenage hood"- he's 37, and we have been married for 13 years.
I've got half a mind to report him to the base padre and let things settle where they may, but i can't bring myself to do it.
Am I nuts?
( sorry this was so long, and so many mistakes in grammar, spelling, etc.- but i just had to get it all out-I thank any and all responses)

[findoutguy]

I'm not sure what he's talking about....saying most married people don't tell eachother where they're going when they go out for a few hours....especially when they have kids. I tell my wife everytime I go out where i'm going...even for 10 minutes. I read your entire blog by the way. ...feel so bad for you. I often find clarity by flipping the roles....would he stay if you treated him this way......acted like a teenager. you left him with the kids and went out all the time....talked to some guy all the time online...kept secrets....online internet drama...hmm. It's hard when there are kids involved but it sounds like you've done the best....gave a lot of effort where most would not.
don't ever think that no one will want you...or that he's the only person that will want you...or take you. every person needs to feel special and wanted....and that they can't be replaced,...if you don't feel that...theres a problem. good luck