gcvmom
Here we go again!
husband's long commute is leaving him feeling left out and neglected. Last night he got home around 8:15pm and the rest of us were engrossed in the latest House episode (which he knew beforehand that we'd be watching it). So we didn't exactly jump up off the couch to greet him when he came in.
He watched the last 20 minutes of the show with us, then it was time for me to get kids to bed. And he KNOWS this involves a lot of supervision -- there are medications to be taken, teeth brushing, bladder emptying, yada, yada, yada. Add to that the fact that difficult child 2 is sick with the flu right now so he's needing some extra attention from me for temp taking, fever medications, fluids, etc.
While I'm scurrying around doing all this, husband is getting ready for bed. I take a quick break from the kids and run upstairs to spend a few minutes with him before he's asleep, knowing that if I don't, he's going to feel completely ignored -- he can be a very needy person.
Well, I guess the 10 minutes I spent chatting with him and giving him my undivided attention was nowhere near enough because this morning I get a whiney guilt trip about how he only gets to talk to me on the phone, and I ignore him all the time... ALL the time. Whenever he goes into this broad generalization mode, I know his emotions have been tweaked and he's feeling fragile. Doesn't make hearing his rantings any easier to take, in fact, I usually end up feeling very annoyed with him and instead of giving him the attention he's craving, I withdraw and DO avoid him.
Apparently my guy is growing up, or his medications are working very well, or both -- because he called me on his way to work to apologize for brow beating me this morning and to try to explain how he's feeling. He confessed that much of what he said was not entirely accurate, and he was sorry for making me feel bad. Wow is an understatement for how that little mea culpa made me feel! Ten years ago, our exchange this morning would have morphed into a week-long sulk that festered into a meltdown for him and a mountain of resentment for me. Before he started medications, he just could NOT articulate his emotions and he could NOT detach from them long enough to see with any level of clarity how his behavior affects the people around him.
Better living through chemistry!
He watched the last 20 minutes of the show with us, then it was time for me to get kids to bed. And he KNOWS this involves a lot of supervision -- there are medications to be taken, teeth brushing, bladder emptying, yada, yada, yada. Add to that the fact that difficult child 2 is sick with the flu right now so he's needing some extra attention from me for temp taking, fever medications, fluids, etc.
While I'm scurrying around doing all this, husband is getting ready for bed. I take a quick break from the kids and run upstairs to spend a few minutes with him before he's asleep, knowing that if I don't, he's going to feel completely ignored -- he can be a very needy person.
Well, I guess the 10 minutes I spent chatting with him and giving him my undivided attention was nowhere near enough because this morning I get a whiney guilt trip about how he only gets to talk to me on the phone, and I ignore him all the time... ALL the time. Whenever he goes into this broad generalization mode, I know his emotions have been tweaked and he's feeling fragile. Doesn't make hearing his rantings any easier to take, in fact, I usually end up feeling very annoyed with him and instead of giving him the attention he's craving, I withdraw and DO avoid him.
Apparently my guy is growing up, or his medications are working very well, or both -- because he called me on his way to work to apologize for brow beating me this morning and to try to explain how he's feeling. He confessed that much of what he said was not entirely accurate, and he was sorry for making me feel bad. Wow is an understatement for how that little mea culpa made me feel! Ten years ago, our exchange this morning would have morphed into a week-long sulk that festered into a meltdown for him and a mountain of resentment for me. Before he started medications, he just could NOT articulate his emotions and he could NOT detach from them long enough to see with any level of clarity how his behavior affects the people around him.
Better living through chemistry!
No, but I once had a thing for our psychiatrist! And who could blame me???!!!
