Siggy's Blurbs: Siggy's Edge of Country …

I keep a close eye on my sleep patterns.  If I am sleeping regularly nine or ten hours and all of a sudden my sleep falls to seven hours a night my alarm is set off and I view my other behavior.  I do enlist the help of my wife when I do this (and this can be hard to do).  And sometimes my wife initiates this review.

Am I losing my temper more frequently?  Have I become agitated (like I am crawling out of my skin)?  What kind of music am I listening to?  Is it music to rev myself up?  How am I feeling when I listen to this music?  Am I becoming more euphoric?  Has there been a surge in self-confidence?  Am I talking more?

There are other signs.  One particular one I can’t ignore:  Am I becoming more anxious in public–maybe even a little paranoid?  All this self examination is set off by a change of sleep patterns. That is one sign I can’t ignore.

All this was taught to me by my doctor decades ago.  I have some control.  I will not go out of control. One of my meds will need to be increased and then some of these symptoms will subside.  I will start sleeping better in a few days.

When I realize I am undergoing another episode I call my med nurse who consults my doctor and they discuss what to do and the nurse gets back to me.  I am lucky:  the community mental health center I go to is very well run and I can rely on them.

I have gone through these episodes dozens of times.  I know now what to expect. I do not change my life abruptly when I am in this cycle although I recognize I might sleep a little less. I might make some adjustment like not going out in public as much if it is too difficult until this cycle ends. (They usually last four or five months.)

I know when this period is ended:  My sleep patterns become more normal. I will start sleeping more every night regularly.  And at that point I can go back to my normal dosage of the med I increased. My episode is done.

Tags: agitated, anxious in public, have some control, know what to expect, losing my temper, manic episode, med nurse, meds, mental health, mental health center, music, my doctor, my sleep patterns, my wife, paranoid, self examination, self-confidence, sleep less, sleeping better, talking more
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No matter what you do, no matter how hard you try you are still going to displease your “other”.  Be aware you are going to fail.  Breakdowns in communication between couples, even to the best of us, happen all the time.

Do not get overly frustrated when that happens and make the best of it.  I keep quoting my doctor who responded to my comment, “My wife is driving me crazy.” by saying, ‘Don’t all wives do that?  Join the club!’

Scott Peck in one of his books states, ‘People get married for the friction.’  There is no other common institution like marriage to change us.

Each person is selfish.  Living with another forces you out of your comfort zone and makes you examine your behavior in a way you would not have to if you were living alone.

I have a friend who once told me, ‘Marriage is work.’  I laughed at him at the time.  I did not believe him.  I was single at the time.  I am no longer laughing at him.  He was right.

Tags: "my wife is driving me crazy", "people get married for the friction", breakdown in communication, couples, displease your other, each person is selfish, examine your behavior, God, join the club, living alone, M. Scott Peck, make the best of it, marriage changes us, marriage is work, married, my doctor, no matter what you do, single, you will fail, your comfort zone
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My wife is truly my serendipity.  God gave me my present wife.  I was not looking for another.  My first marriage had broken up.  She came along when I least expected it.

There is so many reasons I can give why she is a blessing but I will only quickly state a few.  She encourages my writing and is also a fine editor.  She also makes me laugh.  She is not perfect but close.

I could not imagine a life without her.  We both love music and grew up in the same time frame so both of us love a lot of the same music.  All that is a gift.

She certainly is a “better fit” than my first wife.  Most of the time we like each other and laugh a lot together.  I consider her “serendipity”.  I did nothing to deserve her.  This is our seventh Christmas together.  She truly is a blessing.

And may I never forget that when there is any tension or conflict between us.  When I told my doctor my wife was driving me “crazy”, he said “Don’t all wives do that?!”

Tags: blessing, Christmas together, conflict, drive me crazy, encourage my writing, fine editor, gift, God, laugh a lot, love music, makes me laugh, marriage, my doctor, my wife, serendipity, she is a blessing, tension, we like each other, wives
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“All you want from me is sex and scrabble”!? my wife declared in frustration.  I thought that was a funny list.  ?Scrabble.  Hell, traditionally males have complained about that three letter word going out first.

I lasted that long huh?!  Anyway, I had to laugh at that list.  There are things to me far more important than that–the clutter and other things that have driven me crazy almost more than the lack of the word that will remain nameless since everyone will know what I am referring to.

There have been countless “NO!”‘s you uttered to me in the short time.

Sex is only one request of many

We have known each other

Only a few years

But forever to me

You simply pretend  you did not hear me again for the umpteen time or you have heard the requests so many times so you have become blind to them or now simply you ignore them

Requests I ask you get lost in the infinite clutter and chatter

(and I am sure she will make the same claims:  “You don’t listen to me.  You never hear me!”)

I still have to laugh at the original statement.  All I (???) want from me is sex and scrabble

Really ?scrabble

And ?!sex

The time we spend doing that

Is really a drop in a bucket

Of the time spent together

I must be the crazy male

Just tearing out my hair

Excuse me I do not have much

Anymore

I guess we have been

Married too long

This is the longest seven

Years of my life

?Scrabble!

I guess all wives drive their

Husband crazy

I am just one

Of a long line

At least that is

What my doctor says

Tags: chatter, clutter, countless NO's, crazy male, don't listen, drive me crazy, had to laugh, husband, ignore my requests, married, my doctor, my wife, pretend you didn't hear me, Scrabble, sex, sex only one request of many, tearing out my hair, time spent together, you never hear me
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