I love my wife; very, very much.
I don’t tell her that enough, but I do.
Building and moving into a new house has been extremely stressful on our family. I think between her and I there has been guilt and frustration, particularly when it comes to the kids. We feel like we just haven’t spent the time with them this summer that they deserved.
Between us, its been harder. Evenings are (still) spent unpacking until we’re too exhausted to continue. We go to bed and fall asleep as soon as we hit the sheets. Mornings are just as rushed to get the kids off to school and daycare as we head off to work. I think we forget we have a relationship to work on somewhere in all that business. We tend to think that our marriage can run without maintenance, but nerves get raw and innocent statements get taken the wrong way. That happens when you disconnect. That makes me sad.
So, I’m saying “Enough!”. Its time for a good old-fashioned date – dinner and a movie, a walk in the park, parking on Lover’s Lane; whatever. I want to know what she’s thinking, and I want her to know something…
I love her; very, very much.
This last weekend we were getting started on unpacking the house.
“Wanna kiss?” I asked my wife.
“Sure,” she replied.
I closed my eyes and gave her a kiss. I didn’t get a second one as I was expecting, though. I opened my eyes and found that she had walked away.
“Honey,” I called after her.
“Yes?”
“I didn’t mean a noun. I meant a verb.”
“Oh,” she replied, “There’s no time for that.”
Today he started his first day of first grade. We helped him put his supplies into his desk and said our goodbyes. As we left, he was concentrating on finding all of the hidden images on the picture on his desk. He looked so serious amidst the chaos of the classroom, doing his “homework” while waiting for class to start.