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We Survived Christmas, But Just Barely

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Christmas is now officially over and it’s with mixed emotions that I say goodbye to it for another year.

I love the Christmas holidays. I decorate everything in sight. Since we don’t go out very much, we miss most of the festive sights so I bring it to us instead. I can’t outline the house in lights but I put up trees sparkling with white lights all along the front and in front of them I have bunches of red and white poinsettias grouped every two feet with stick trees lite in white behind them. Lots of garland can be seen draped on porch rails with white lights running throughout. Electronic deer and a snow family grouped among trees with the Holy Nativity established in the place of honor at the entrance to our driveway greet visitors upon their arrival.

Yes, my house could be on the tacky light tour if we had one in our neighborhood but it is how I enjoy the sights of Christmas being limited in my time away from home.

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Is That Your Final Answer?

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Once you become a full-time caregiver to your spouse, the relationship takes on many new dimensions.  While in the traditional marriage roles, the husband takes care of the wife and makes many of the final decisions regarding big issues, if the one being cared for is the husband, and the one doing the caring is the wife, those roles often reverse.  That reversal has happened to me and my spouse, Lynn.  Though I try to maintain our husband/wife roles in our marriage, I have to admit that now that I do almost everything for him and our home, it’s really difficult not to just make all the decisions without including him.
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All He Can Do Is Yell

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I’ve never been comfortable with strong expressions of anger. I’m the sort of person that prefers to compromise and resolve things peacefully so one of the more difficult challenges I have faced is how to handle Lynn’s frustrations expressed through anger.
Today as I was working at my desk, I heard over the baby monitor I use to make sure that I hear him if he needs anything, the increasing volume of Lynn’s voice as he was trying to get his voice recognition software to work properly. As I sat there, I could hear him first repeat the same command three times, each time a little differently.  Then he started adding in a few expletives and some not very flattering descriptions of the software program. Finally, the volume and expletives became so intense, I could no longer listen to it for fear that he was about to take his headphones off and through them across the room.
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