Day after day

“A successful marriage is an edifice that must be rebuilt every day.”
-Andre Maurois

Here’s the timeline of what goes through my head every afternoon and evening:

3:00 pm—“There can’t possibly be two more hours of work until I can go home. I just want to go home and hang up out with my husband.”
3:30 pm—“My husband is absolutely amazing. How lucky I am to have found (and kept) him!
4:00 pm—“We’re actually married. Are we actually old enough to be married? Do we actually know each other well enough to be married? I guess we’ve been together for almost six years, so yeah, I guess so. This is all just so surreal!”
4:30 pm—“What can I do tonight to show my husband how much I love him? What will I make for dinner? What chores can I squeeze in before he gets home?”
5:00 pm—“Better pick up those last minute ingredients on the way home. He’s worked hard all day, and I want to make sure that he doesn’t leave the dinner table still hungry.”
5:30 pm—“Maybe Rob came home early today to surprise me. And, maybe, just maybe he already has dinner made.”
5:35 pm—“ Well, he’s not home yet. Let’s just hope he’s not staying super late tonight.”
6:05 pm—“Come on, honey, call me and tell me that you’re headed home. I’m ready to see you. I’m ready to tell you about my day and hear about yours.”
6:15 pm—“Oh there’s the phone. Yay! Rob’s coming home!! I get to see him soon.”
7:15 pm—“There’s two minutes until dinner is ready. Where is he? He better not be late, or our supper will be cold.”
7:18 pm—“I think I just heard the key in the lock. Perfect timing. Looking forward to the kiss that he’ll give me when he walks in the door.”
7:22 pm—“Why couldn’t he have waited until after dinner to take a shower? Now the food is going to be really cold. I guess I can be setting the table and getting the drinks ready, so all we have to do is sit down and eat.”
7:30 pm—“I guess it’s nice that he wants to eat dinner without the TV on, but I was watching that. Couldn’t he have asked before he shut it off?”
7:35 pm—“He’s just pushing his food around his plate. Maybe he doesn’t like it. I’m not the greatest cook, but I tried. He could at least try to eat it.”
7:38 pm—“He’s staring right through me as we chat. Wait, a sec, he just grabbed the calculator. His mind hasn’t left work!! No wonder I can’t hold a conversation with him.”
7:45 pm—“He’s nitpicking about how much money I spent today. It was his prescription from Target, and the food that he’s eating right now from Kroger. So, yes, those expenses were necessary. And, no, I’m not going to defend every cent I spend. Just not going to do it.”
8:15 pm—“I hope he finds something else to do tonight because I don’t want to have to entertain him. I hope he just leaves me alone to do my own thing. Why in the world did I look forward to him coming home so much? He’s always in such a foul mood when he gets home.”
8:45 pm—“Who in the world is he calling now? Oh, work stuff. Seems like a Post-It note might work just as well as bothering the night shift with a phone call.”
10:25 pm—“I can't believe that he's still storming around here. Is he mad at me? You think he’ll have the nerve to sleep in the guest room tonight?”
10:35 pm—“He’s brushing his teeth, maybe I’ll start getting ready for bed, too.”
10:37 pm—“Oh, wait, he’s joking with me now. Maybe he’s not mad after all.”
10:48 pm—“Hope he hurries up and gets in bed. After a night like this, I’m more than ready to cuddle with him.”
10:55 pm—“I’m so lucky I get to put my head on his chest as he tells me all about his day. About why he was so grumpy earlier and about all of the headaches he’s had to overcome today. And yet, despite all of the negativity, I can hear it in his voice: he really loves this job and is working really hard to perform as best as he can.”
11:06pm—“It can’t get much more perfect than this. Curling up together, sharing about our frustrations and our dreams, joking around together. And finally, falling asleep together.”