So, more thoughts on whether or not I will bail on the path I have chosen. I get the feeling that there may be at least one person who just plain doesn't believe that I will stay my course. That's their opinion.

But, in the interest of discussion, I want to bring back out one of my own misgivings:

Leather is; as a process, nomenclature, and grounding for a philosophy; a thing that holds no interest for me. Thus will always be a point of division. Even though the underlying concepts of the practice are of direct value.

That said, what is one to do? I require a number of aspects in a teacher, and the meeting of all of them can't be found in every potential teacher. So take what one can find?

Over the weekend there was some stress-induced panic on {I}'s part came out regarding the stresses of her apprenticeship (all the triggers that are being activated at once and the manifestation of the time requirements atm.)

And last night some of it came to:

"if pushing [her] this fast is the only way to get us healthy enough to save our relationship then [she] may have to scrap the whole thing." (meant to include the relationship)

--> not a thing that needs to be fixed this instant, but may be a series of issues

The above statement was received easily but by this morning left me a little unsettled and feeling like the bottom could drop out on this at any second.

Which in turn brought me back to thinking about my level of commitment. And as it happens, if she just up and left, huge portions of the progress she is helping me make would be thrown asunder. And based on what has already compounded around being left, I'll likely be hard pressed to hold together much less continue to grow.

On the other hand, if she just needs to not be n the apprenticeship, I'll still be in and moving forward.

So, maybe I was incorrect about my answer. I don't know. I can't know anything for sure until it comes to pass.