Things are looking up?

I realize it been almost a month since my last post, and my last entry was indicating I was go to the therapists office to make sense of the verbal altercation my wife was having with from the previous weekend.

Pride is a very difficult thing. We all have it to one degree or another, and sometimes personal pride can get in the way of many a great thing, especially relationships. I don't mean this to be a wife bashing session (as you'll hopefully figure out in the coming paragraphs), but I have come to the realization my wife has a great amount of personal pride.

Not that pride is bad in and of itself, it's how it's applied in everyday situations. So for all you guys and gals, married or unmarried, or whatever you relationship status is....swallow your pride. Pride can be just as damaging as jealousy and bittereness and other negative emotions.

I've said this before...my spouse does not have 'sorry' in her vocabulary. She makes ammends in other ways and sometimes its difficult for me to recognize right away.

Long story short, Tuesday we did have a session with our counselor and when it was all said and done and we laid out both sides of the events that transpired, the female counselor told my wife that she was wrong. It was not a 'Nyah, Nyah, Nyah' moment for me. I had no desire to rub it in her face, but for me, it helped me unload some of the weight I carry on my own shoulders and midn in wondering "Am I really this screwed up? Do I really not get life? Have I been raised by a warped moral and ethical code that doesn't really exist?"

The other strange thing that I will never understand is once my wife heard that I in fact did the right thing and that perhaps she was actually out of line during the course of prior events, she seemed to understand the issue. How come when I point out stuff it's dismissed, but if someone else points out the EXACT same thing, then it is taken seriously and digested and thought about by her?

Anyway, that was close to a month ago, and I'm happy to report that things between us have improved. I feel as if my wife really is indeed trying to make an effort in some thinsg now. No nothing is perfect, including me, and I'm still on my medication, but I've been more at peace these last two weeks than I have in months. We are getting along well, doing things together and still being able to find the tiem to do our own things. I do feel a bit more empowered as of late as well and maybe not as spineless as before when it comes to my wife. Maybe my wife has gained an incling of more respect for me because of this too. I'm more firm in my answers...not mean...and I'm not getting suckered into certain badegerings. I just walk away and talk calmly and tell her when she wants to talk civily....we'll talk, and if she even begins to raise her voice, I just stop and let it go in one ear and out the other. Sure, I think this agitates her to no end, and I'm not trying to be an ass about it, but I'm saving myself from getting worked up, sleepless, having to rely on pills to lower my blood pressure or pain in my chest. I think she's getting the hint now and realizes I'm not as eaily goaded as before. And it does help when a professional tell her that her antics at times are just as unhealthy as mine.

But in all seriousness, we are getting along good. We actually hosted a party at our house last weekend which was fun for the both of us. We also recently went to the county fair, and tonight we are going to a concert...tickets that she bought for me, no less.

So let's hope this is a beginning of a new standard in turning our relationship around. I don't want to jinx it at all, but the last few weeks has been quite an improvement for us.