Don't let the sun go down on your irritation

When Loren and I are tired, like we are tonight, we're more likely to get snippy with each other. Inevitably, he'll go to bed and I'll stay up half the night. That part is pretty common. But most often, our snippiness shows up when he has to work back-to-back shifts the following two days, so I don't see him for some time.

Thankfully, we've learned it's worth taking a break from each other for a few minutes, cooling down, and making up. If we didn't, with his work schedule and my addictions, we would be right back where we were 10 years ago - ready to separate. I'm thankful that even during our worst times since reconciling, we've never considered splitting up again. It seems strange to me that after surviving two years of separation, doing so again would be unthinkable because there's too much at stake. I guess fear of the known in this case is worse than fear of the unknown was all those years ago.

On a cheerier note, Toby comes home from his 4-H trip tomorrow. We couldn't redo his room, but we spuff it for him this evening. If I weren't so tired, I'd be shopping for a desk to replace his table and getting him a real closet rod. All in all, though, I don't suppose he'll care about that so much. With everything cleaned, decluttered, and organized, he'll be thrilled to have room to dump his stuff when he gets home!

Decluttered: food dehydrator I picked up at Goodwill and never used, cheesy tabletop pool game, empty boxes, canned spinach, cute little busted water cooler, crayfish (live), rocks, powdered milk, dirt, recycled containers, and clothes he outgrew long ago which aren't in hand-me-down condition.