The Married Bachelor

I've been in love with the same woman for many years. If my wife ever finds out, she'll kill me!

My wife is a runner and is leaving tomorrow morning for a Ragnar race in Colorado and will be back on Sunday. Like most husbands, my first reaction is, Sweet! I can do whatever I want without my wife telling me what to do! As my friend, Rick would say, Yahoo!

Unfortunately, that feeling goes away within a half hour later. In my case, it won't hit me until Thursday night. The evening will be fine because my friend, Kevin, will be here for the NFL opener that evening. When he leaves, it will be just me and the dogs.

I can cook, but I have a tendency to avoid eating while she's gone. I know! It seems ridiculous and I don't know why that happens. It just does. She'll call me and that is the first thing she'll ask me. "Did you eat?" I think it might be a result of the rhythm of the home being suddenly interrupted and I don't really do well when that happens. I'll keep the house clean because I do that during my wife's workday.

I know I'm not the only one who goes through this. Its strange, too, because I did well on my own in the nine years I was single prior to getting married. My house was clean, I ate, did laundry, etc. I will admit to eating way too much fast food. But, that's really because I worked like a mad man, so I had very little time to do much different.

Maybe that's the problem. These days, I don't drive, so I'm a captive, held hostage in my own home. What will I do during the remainder of the evenings? Watching the TV shows that we normally watch together is just not the same. This pushes me to go to bed earlier, which is good for me. Failing to get enough sleep is very bad for me with the condition I have.

Perhaps the biggest problem is that she is well aware of the fact that I don't do as well when I'm alone. There is a huge shift in power each time this happens because she does just fine in my absence. I took a month earlier this year to visit two of my children and their families. When I came home, she told me it was nice to have that time alone.

I don't understand this dynamic, but that's the reality. I hope its the same for most men and women, otherwise it just means my marriage is in serious trouble. Yikes!

See you tomorrow.

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