Well, it would seem that everyone else loves Comcast OnDemand too, and we are all loving Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Right, then. Sorry, Mike, but I won’t be taking you up on your offer to trade for your old VCR. In fact, I should put a listing on Freecycle for the giant box of VCR tapes we’ll never watch again. It’s too bad too, there were some really good exercise videos in my collection, some of which I never even watched.
Oh, you mean I’m supposed to actually do the workouts, not just watch? Crap.
There’s tension here at House of Five, lots of tension and it’s been really wearing me out. I’m still going through Bloglines every day, but mustering up the energy to leave comments is another story.
Things are bad for Chris at work right now. Something about the person in charge of purchasing software neglecting to secure the necessary licenses, and a rejected vendor blowing the whistle, and the possibility of everyone losing their Microsoft certifications, possibly forever. It’s very, very bad. And when he is under stress, what he wants is to come home at the end of the day and have no additional pressure or stress put on him.
Which would be fine, if we didn’t have three kids, one of whom is a baby and another whose potential ADD is causing me to feel like there are constantly bombs about to drop on my head. Wednesday night, we sat down for a “discussion”, that went something like this:
C: If just once a week I got a positive reaction from you when I walk in the door at night, it would be a miracle.
E: But…uh…but…you don’t understand! By the time you get home at night, I’ve been parenting Kaitlyn alone all day, taking care of every single detail of running this family, and then the kids come home and Nathan starts in on me, so by 6:00 I’m a little stressed.
C: I understand you’re stressed, but you could still smile and act happy to see me.
E: (thinking, what, like a goddamn golden retriever?) But…but…
C: And when are you going back on the antidepressants? You’ve been off them since you were pregnant with Kaitlyn a year and a half ago. You’re never happy anymore.
E: (thinking, so you only like me when I’m artificially medicated then?) So, you only like me when I’m artificially medicated then?
C: Don’t be ridiculous. If you’re going to act like a child then this discussion is over.
E: But…but…(notice how intelligent I get in the face of a challenge)
C: And then you badger me to talk to you, and I do, and you don’t like what I have to say. Then you make ridiculous generalizations that don’t help at all, so I just shut up.
E: But…FINE. I’ll go back on the antidepressants, and I’ll be goddamn HAPPY when you walk in the door at night. OKAY?
C: (getting up) *Sigh* THIS is why I don’t talk to you.
So he goes and takes a shower, and I sit there glowering and staring at the muted television. Then he comes out of the shower, all yummy-smelling and wearing a soft cotton t-shirt, and he says he needs a hug. So I hug him, but I’m MAD about it. Then, he says this:
C: All I’ve ever wanted to do since the moment we met, is be your friend.
Awwwwww, SHIT. There is just no arguing with that. No fair pulling the we’ve-been-together-since-we-were-in-High-School card. And THEN he says:
C: I still remember riding my bike from my house (in one town) to yours (in another town) just to see you. Not a week goes by that I don’t think of that.
CRAP. He’s gonna be all sweet and remind me that we were best friends before we fell in love, and that we’ve been together longer than we were not-together.
C: I just want my friend back.
Well, there you go then. There was more hugging and since then, it’s been a little better. Nathan still makes me feel like I have a missile aimed at my chest, and we still have no idea what to do about it, but the tide is potentially turning.
I’ll have another post up later today in which I do my first product review since receiving the Portable DVD player. For yogurt, even. And maybe some photos, it’s been a while. Happy Friday everyone. I love you, even though we haven’t been friends since High School.
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table4five










Hello and welcome to Table for Five! I'm Elizabeth, and this blog started in September 2005 as a way for me to participate in the Mommy Blogging community. I'm married with three terrific kids-boys ages 11 and 9 and a 2 year old daughter. Things I love include my family, coffee, Diet Coke, TV, reading, and Target.
Please contact me at table4five AT gmail DOT com if you would like to discuss anything I've posted here, place a text or button ad, send me a product to review, or provide a guest post. Thank you for stopping by!
Sending you big hugs because I know you know that I know (what???) that having kids is very stressful and that sometimes you don’t feel like smiling and being happy to see your husband at the end of the day even though you ARE actually happy to see him. I hope things get better soon!
There is not much worse for a married woman than to be with a man who’s unhappy at work.
Bong! I think I just wrote my first fortune cookie!
Any way, boy, do I feel for you. Your image of the missile aimed at your chest was right on (at least, compared to my experiences with Jeff whenever he gets stressed out about work.)
But he loves you. A lot. And he still takes the time to show it.
That’s pretty wonderful.
I totally sympathise. Things are really stressful at Dave’s work and it’s hard when he gets home and we’ve both had bad days and we both want sympathy from each other. But, like roo said, he loves you and he takes the time to show you that. Very cool.
I hope the stress is lifted from his workplace soon.
Hey there you….
Hang in there. Dave too is unhappy at work and I feel your pain. It’s funny though what he says about putting a smile on for him when he comes home from work. There is definitely something in this. Men are so blissfully simple and this is one of the things I hear from them time and time again. Their home is their sanctuary.
Now there’s no need to put on the apron and a dab of make-up or anything, just fake it…. I do….
Through gritted teeth….”Hi honey, how was your day?”
And that sets the mood for the night and you can let slip your little grievances throughout the evening - spread evenly.
Dr Laura - who I HATE but listen to by mistake - would be proud of us.
Awwww, he’s kinda cute…with all his memories and stuff. I’m sure he’s just worried about you with the meds thing. I get defensive on my hubby too when he says stuff like that…..then I realize (sometimes) that he’s just trying to look out for my well being. =\ How dare he!! LOL
Do you mean like when your husband goes away for five days leaving you with the child from hell? And wants sympanthy and tea when he walks through the door since his TRAVEL has been so exhausting? His Sleeping aLONE has been so exhausting? His EATING ALONE has been so exhausting?
And as to Nathan…deep breaths. Let’s get him in for the real tests ( not the “hey doctor can you give my kid some ADD drugs?”) and take it as it comes.
Meds ( just like anti-depressants) can be a really GOOD thing, if they are right for him. You aren’t trying to change him, just help him manage his body in a more effective way. It can be amazing at how this can drop the stress level in the house.
Hang in there, Baby.
It’s interesting to see this from the other side.
My family is big on greetings and leavings. When someone comes home, everything stops while they are hugged and kissed and told hello. Same thing with leaving.
Mr. Stapler? Not so much. This is probably one of the top ten reasons I quit living with him. I would come home and no one would greet me. I would yell up to him and he would say “What?” or something equally pleasant. I would go up and he would be sitting at his computer with his back to me, and MAYBE, IF I was lucky, turn around to me with a pissy face on.
His opinion was that yelling across the house was rude. Mine was that hearing someone come in and not coming to greet them was.
I was so hurt by his action, or rather inaction. I feel like I am worthy of being greeted properly. I always made sure to greet him…every time he didn’t greet me it felt like a slap in the face, like someone telling me “You’re not worth my time.”
I’m so sorry you guys are having a rough time right now. It sounds like Chris is a keeper though, what a sweet thing to say.
As for everything else going on, hang in there. You guys have been through a lot lately and I’m sure you’re both at your wits end at this point.
Thinking of you.
Awwwww. Glad you guys are still friends. I think the mister pulled that on me one time and I got all melty-like. Damn him.
((hugs)). Love you, dear.
Take care — hopefully this rough period will pass.
That’s a pretty elaborate “I’m sorry” he threw at you. But I salute him for pulling that one out of the fire and closing the doghouse door. I’m a little surprised you didn’t flush every toilet in the house while he was showering. Good on ya.
And does this mean you’re not going to be using your old VCR? Cuz we may be in the market…
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