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I wasn’t betting: why don’t you just shut up for about a week?

Posted on June 6, 2005December 2, 2019 by Paul Armstrong

Summer is here – with a vengeance. 90 degrees. No school. Sweating. Irritability. Discovering a summer schedule. Vacation on the horizon. Needless to say, I\’m distracted.

Saturday Sonya and I got to go out – the first time in about 2 months. We went down to Newport on the Levee and dinned at Claddagh Irish Pub (mmmmm). We walked around (listened to some live music by the Aquarium – no, not a band named Aquarium, I have no idea the band name, other than they tossed beads to the 20 people listening – no, I mean the literal aquarium – water, fish, sharks, swimmy swimmy), talked and went to Barnes and Noble. So needed, to connect, after the busyness of finding and selling a house, and shuffling our schedules and timing – by the end of the day we\’re so tired there is little that we have to say. And I suppose that become routine for most couples (especially after 10 years). Kids lessons and after school specials and superfluous activities, church volunteering and functions, bible studies and small groups, morning groups (for moms or men or mom’s of men who didn’t want moms), coffee with friends or acquaintances or strangers, and at the end of the day your marriage became the 253rd item on a list of to dos (that progressively gets longer every month). Nothing happens without intentionality. It is our job to make time, to take time, to find time to be together, to get away, and connect. Regardless of the complexities of what we (as a couple) have to deal with, it is our own fault for letting items surpass our marriage.

Sunday Abbie wasn’t feeling well (100? temp), didn’t go to church, but did go to the church picnic at Keehner Park. Wow. Hot. But as is typical, we had little time to talk with anyone, and ended up managing the kids, and playing with them, or getting them food, or cleaning up their food, or going to the bathroom (and heat just subtracts about 45% of emotional control from people — so the kids were whiny and we were irritable).

Now its Monday of a short week (hurrah we’re leaving for vacation to Sunset Beach on Friday!) in a hot room trying to focus and accomplish all that I need to – and wondering if I have the wherewith-all to pull it off.

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