What three things did your spouse point out about you that need your attention? How did you handle hearing it? What do you plan to do to improve in these areas?

He pointed out that I need to 1) lose weight, 2) be more affectionate, and 3) spend less time on the computer and more time with him watching TV. I agree with him in all these areas, except the TV one. If I am on the computer, I am either working OR checking my e-mail and responding to it. I handled hearing these okay because I know they are true. I am going to try to exercise and eat healthy which will make me feel good about myself.

1) Walk on the treadmill while I am saying my daily rosary.
2) Count my WeightWatcher points again and monitor my weight daily.
3) Use my exercise ball regularly.

Ricky also wrote some really “cute” comments that I want to keep forever:
IT IRRITATES ME …
1) That you are so in tune with God. That you have not missed one single Mass since we rejoined the Catholic Church (since 2005). I only wish that I had the same spirit. (religious)
2) That you say, “We are not getting any younger. We need to do it now or not do it at all [in reference to the house remodel and vacations]. (persuasive)
3) That you tolerate L and his lack of self-confidence and the fact that you have mentioned that he is B made over. I must realize that his time will come. He will probably be our most successful son. (tolerant)
4) That you can rationalize situations better than me, like … (rational)
a) T
b) Our investment portfolio with Irvin
c) The situation with Katie S.
d) The solution with Darla; give her back to Zack and the animal shelter

What are the three things that bug you the most about your husband?
1) Dancing inappropriately with me and other women when we are out in public. We have had more problems over this behavior than anything else.
2) Not taking care of the garage or the yard. He never puts things back in their proper place … and then we have to hire someone to come and sort everything out. He throws away anything that doesn’t have value to him personally without caring or asking first, and then I get upset because I can’t find it. We both had fathers who maintained tool shops with everything in its place, so it is hard for me to understand his lack of organization and order. I needed a long-handled Phillips-head screwdriver the other day to change out the vacuum cleaner belt and couldn’t find one in all the mess and clutter we call a garage. It was very frustrating to know that we have every conceivable tool you can imagine but can never find what we need when we need it.
3) He shuts down emotionally and physically when I need him most by going into a silent and disconnected mode. I automatically jump to the conclusion that I have done something wrong and everything goes downhill from there. One example is when Cuddles had her accident. He shut down on me completely and I felt like I was going through it alone. I didn’t get emotional release until my two oldest sons came to help. I was left thinking he shut down because of 1) the inconvenience of having to drive into Austin to an emergency vet clinic, 2) the unexpected expense of it all, 3) his desire to be at home free of all responsibilities and worries, and 4) that he didn’t love me or Cuddles enough to be there for us.

Lord, as I look at this long list of negatives I realize that I have to change my way of thinking and reacting … and try to focus on Ricky’s positive and endearing qualities. Give me the grace and the patience to do this, please! Amen. +++