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Marriage woes

Posted 29th November 2007 by tkd_mama, tagged marriage

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This has probably been the toughest couple of years in my 18-yr marriage.  The struggle to balance raising our DS with both of us working FT has led to strains in our relationship.  It's almost a "marriage trouble" cliché: DH doesn't feel like he gets enough intimacy/affection/support from me (it's not just sex, but it's mostly that), and I don't feel happy in my life to feel up for intimacy.  From my angle, I don't feel happy about how his health and his job have dominated things -- it almost seems like "it's always about him" kind of atmosphere -- when I believe he could have been more aggressive with how he could pursue resolutions to both.  (He's had to deal with some difficult medical issues over the past 5 yrs or so, and his company was on the rocks.)  Last night was tough: his company has been bought, and now the new company is saying he & his coworkers need to comply with *their* prescribed work hours.  If they cannot negotiate a change, he'll get home at 6:30 pm (or 7 pm if he cannot make the earlier train) instead of 5:30 pm, and he exercises daily after work for about 40 mins.  (I do my exercise during my lunch break.)  So not only will our son see him less (which troubles me), but he'll be even less available to help me out -- e.g. pick up DS from daycare in a pinch or whatever.  (DH works over an hour away and takes public transportation, which has a fixed schedule.)  As I tried to explore options for things to make it work better and he basically shot them down, I said, "Think about how these changes affect *me*, too."  Well, that led later to a drawn-out emotional back-and-forth where he said he felt frustrated, that he feels like he tries to be helpful (and he is; he does a fair amt of household duties) and now he's hearing from me that I'm basically not satisfied with what he does.  I didn't want to get into an argument about that, so I opted to talk about how I feel that friendships -- an important component of our lives; is it not? -- have been really pushed to the sidelines, partly due to "The Balance" struggle, partly due to a variety of other reasons, some beyond our control.  And that leaves a hole in my life that pains me a great deal.  Anyway, we didn't really resolve anything, but at least we got some things out on the table.  Counseling is not an option right now, and besides, we've done it before and know how hard it is to try and squeeze that in when you work FT and have a child.

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4 comments so far...

  • Sounds like it is a consensus that most of us have been there! I know when my husband and I were going through this, we agreed neither of us were happy with how we were being treated and how we were treating each other. We decided to take a "best friend" approach. I know this may sound silly, but stay with me. We decided to work hard to talk and treat each other like we would our best friend. It was hard work but it really paid off. We both became more motivated to do nice things for each other, thus making each of us feel valued by the other. It really was a turning point. Fourteen years later, we are still going strong. Best of luck to you and hang in there!

    Flag as inappropriate Posted by The Mentor Mom on 29th November 2007

  • i thrid what they are saying! i have totally been there! and it IS hard to do counciling with crazy schedules and a child! sometimes though you just need that third party to reword things. a lot of places will have a sliding scale and funky hours to help you out - its worth checking into anyway!
    i think you are both on the right path of letting each other know how you are feeling about the situation. only advice i can offer is to try to come to an agreed upon comrpomise of this is just how it is going to be for a while. and then you can complain to each other that i sucks, but are no longer blaming one another for not 'fixing' it - sometimes the solution is to just keep talking and waiting it out.
    We go through stages of unintentional avoidence with one another because of work and have found that even something simiple like watching a movie on DVD after our son is in bed does WONDERS! if you can stick to one night a week and count on it, it could really help rebuild that 'friendship' bridge!

    *hugs* good luck and keep in touch ! Nataly is so right, we are here for you :)

    Flag as inappropriate Posted by Kate on 29th November 2007

  • I second BIG HUGS and also just want to say that I understand, for whatever that's worth. I wish I had wisdom to offer, but for now, just support. My husband and I have been there - often - and we've only been married for 6 years. It's so tough to balance 2 FT careers with kids - and it's a constant shifting juggle, like you say.

    Right now I am in this overworked state where if I am not with my daughter, I am working. I know it's putting a strain on our relationship and yet I am not sure what exactly I can change at the moment. I think of it as a tough patch that we have to buckle down and deal with. But I think what you said is important - to at least be talking, to get things on the table.

    Hang in there, we're here for you.

    Flag as inappropriate Posted by Nataly on 29th November 2007

  • BIG HUGS! This seems so overwhelming right now but talking about it is a great step. My hubby is tied to the train, too, and 4 days a week is gone for 13 hours so he often doesn't see the girls on those days. It works out somehow but maybe b/c we know we can't change it right now and just have to go with the flow. Thanks for sharing this with us and hopefully you can get some release in writing it down!

    Flag as inappropriate Posted by Mandy Nelson - Dandysound on 29th November 2007

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