I'm a Jerk, Will You Forgive Me?

I'm sure that none of you other wives out there have ever had an emotional outburst that was pretty much totally unnecessary and unwarranted towards your husband. But on occasion, I have. Every once in a while, I start looking around the house and obsessing over what needs to be painted, the towels that should probably be replaced, the mysterious boxes of items needing to be labeled and organized in the garage, and the villainous weeds that seem like they're on a mission to overtake our backyard. When I start to dwell on these things, I sort of start to panic because I feel overwhelmed, and often times that panic evolves into frustration. And as the frustration begins to bubble over into anger, I look across the room, and who's there?

My husband, that's who. So I start complaining and unloading and suddenly focusing on everything he's ever done wrong since 1994 the year I met him. And then I go to sleep and then I wake up, and then it's morning, and suddenly the house doesn't seem that bad, the kids seem pretty happy, and oooppps, I feel better, but why does my husband look so morose? Oh yeah, I yelled at him and blamed him for the time we had bad weather, the cavities in my teeth, and for the fact that my youngest daughter was overtired yesterday at church, and ridiculously clingy.

And suddenly, I want to take everything I complained about back, especially because now I'm remembering all the incredibly hard work he's done around the house, the devotion he has to the kids, the hours he's spent patiently listening to me ramble, and the steadfastness that so defines him in every way.

Do you think if I post it all on my blog, he'll read it and forgive me? Let's hope so, any other guy would be half way to Mexico right now. And blog readers, (all 3 of you out there), allow me to share this lesson with you that will so help you in your marriages - Proverbs 13:3 Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. Speak less, listen more, and you'll be making fewer apologies than I have to make, I assure you.