What can I do?
My wife works incredibly hard and is always busy with something. It's like this if you are talking in the kitchen she will put away the dishes or clean the counter-top or organize it, anything but give me "undivided" attention. Most nights she is busy working in the home office on her business venture. (that is understandable, but she has been asked many times to set aside certain nights for me/us. If she does stop and "relax" with me, she makes sure I feel what an act of monumental proportions it is.
Okay, here it is: When I after spending weeks feeling "alone" in my own home, I ask her discuss my loneliness and the absence of my "loving" wife. This last time before asking I was sooooo sad about my condition I asked to be left alone and retreated to our spare bedroom, where I stayed for 48 hours. She didn't even check in on me, once. Deciding I'd better just pull up my boot-straps and get up, which I did. I then proceeded to inform my wife how appreciative I was with her total love and concern for my well being. This led to one of our classic battles, where I try to explain why I feel the way I do and she reminds me of every bad thing I've said or done in my entire life with her. (20 years) Me telling her that I am not happy feeling alone in my own home turned into a referendum on my faults. As it turns out most of the times that we were "getting along" she was miserable and it was a nightmare, to quote her.
Now don't get me wrong, I have my own faults. One of them being I am sometimes hyper-critical of people, even my wife and kids, but, in my mind, not bad enough to endure what has been my life lately. (years)
I will even come out of the blue and suggest we talk about these issues and the first time I criticize her in any way, here comes the storm and it will soon be the same old referendum on MY behavior and it will encompass many years past, issues that I thought were resolved come up again and again, always with me as the BAD guy and at fault for the whole mess. When I calmly bring up this exact issue I am speaking of here, guess what, you got it, total blow-out and I'm the worst thing that ever happened to her.
So, what can I do?
My wife works incredibly hard and is always busy with something. It's like this if you are talking in the kitchen she will put away the dishes or clean the counter-top or organize it, anything but give me "undivided" attention. Most nights she is busy working in the home office on her business venture. (that is understandable, but she has been asked many times to set aside certain nights for me/us. If she does stop and "relax" with me, she makes sure I feel what an act of monumental proportions it is.
Okay, here it is: When I after spending weeks feeling "alone" in my own home, I ask her discuss my loneliness and the absence of my "loving" wife. This last time before asking I was sooooo sad about my condition I asked to be left alone and retreated to our spare bedroom, where I stayed for 48 hours. She didn't even check in on me, once. Deciding I'd better just pull up my boot-straps and get up, which I did. I then proceeded to inform my wife how appreciative I was with her total love and concern for my well being. This led to one of our classic battles, where I try to explain why I feel the way I do and she reminds me of every bad thing I've said or done in my entire life with her. (20 years) Me telling her that I am not happy feeling alone in my own home turned into a referendum on my faults. As it turns out most of the times that we were "getting along" she was miserable and it was a nightmare, to quote her.
Now don't get me wrong, I have my own faults. One of them being I am sometimes hyper-critical of people, even my wife and kids, but, in my mind, not bad enough to endure what has been my life lately. (years)
I will even come out of the blue and suggest we talk about these issues and the first time I criticize her in any way, here comes the storm and it will soon be the same old referendum on MY behavior and it will encompass many years past, issues that I thought were resolved come up again and again, always with me as the BAD guy and at fault for the whole mess. When I calmly bring up this exact issue I am speaking of here, guess what, you got it, total blow-out and I'm the worst thing that ever happened to her.
So, what can I do?