This will be a challenge for me. I just sometimes want to be alone. Just alone without him and he has a way of sensing that and pushing back. It’s not that our relationship is bad, but it’s not fair to either of us when I’m crabby to take it out on him. I now try to make an effort to say thank you for everything he does for me, because he does do a lot. And he seems to have noticed but I need to make more of an effort to be present when he’s there and be just nice with him when I get home from work. I know I’m tired and just drove an hour to get home so it’s not that I have no reasons, they’re just not really good enough reasons to be anything but my best. 15 months ago

I’m really mean to him sometimes and he works so hard. I am really going to try and greet him nicely when he comes home and make him happy to come home after work. It’s been tough after having the baby, especially with the crazy hormones. He’s put up with so much. He’s a good husband! 15 months ago

I just read The Five Love Languages and now I’m wondering where my husband fits in, and whether this was the most meaningful choice of showing my love for him I could have made. I need to give it more thought – I chose it for me, to make me feel better about my own behavior and its effect on our relationship, but maybe there are other things I could do that would be more meaningful to him. 15 months ago

This goal has been challenging,but it’s really worth the effort.

I’m not doing a perfect job of it – some days I jump on him for being late, or I just go over the ups and downs of my day, happy to have an adult conversation without taking a step back to think about how it must feel to be hit with that right away.

But some days, and it’s becoming more often, I manage to rise above myself and make an effort and it’s good for our relationship. Last night my husband came home very late. I was already in bed, but not quite asleep. I could easily have stayed in bed & drifted off, I wasn’t far from sleep and he thought I was already asleep, and he was being very quiet. Instead, I got up & came downstairs & made big efforts – helped hime get a bite to eat pulled together, helped organize some things he needed for the morning, sat with him while he ate, and had a really nice conversation out of all that, in which he shared his ups and downs too. 16 months ago

Some days this is really challenging for me.

I know my husband has a really stressful job, and a lot of responsibilities in his life.

I really want him to be able to look forward to coming home, and to seeing me.

Still, my moods vary and I’m not always jumping for joy and acting extra nice when he comes home. The intention is ther, the effort is there most of the time, but this is going to be a long road to get it right and make it feel natural. 16 months ago

Just setting this goal helped me tremendously.

I saw a pattern of behavior, and the awareness of it has gone a long way towards the solution.

He also appreciates the effort, and that helps too.

Relationships require nurturing. 16 months ago

I became a stay at home mom this year (after passing half of my life working). I have developed a tendency to drop all my social needs and annoyances of the day on my husband the second he gets home, and it’s bad for both of us. I sound like a whiney complainer with no life, and he always takes it as a critique, instead of just me letting out steam.

So my resolution is to stop myself from doing this and instead focus on the positive, and be the happiest part of me when he comes home. 16 months ago

I became a stay at home mom this year (after passing half of my life working). I have developed a tendency to drop all my social needs and annoyances of the day on my husband the second he gets home, and it’s bad for both of us. I sound like a whiney complainer with no life, and he always takes it as a critique, instead of just me letting out steam.

So my resolution is to stop myself from doing this and instead focus on the positive, and be the happiest part of me when he comes home. 16 months ago