I wrote the last post in the heat of the moment after my husband and I had the little tiff over the car situation. Those kinds of arguments are rather cathartic for me and I usually end up feeling better for them, but I don't think it works the same way for my husband. I think instead of a release it just adds to his stress level, so I guess we should learn a compromise way of handling disagreements. My parents had the occasional ring-dinger in earshot of us, but they always seemed to make up afterwards, so I'm able to roll with the ebb and flow of emotional uprisings fairly well. I don't know much about the details of my husbands childhood (except the big stuff, which was pretty nasty), so I don't know if there were many arguments or if there were what the aftermath was like. Anyway, I just wanted to add that despite everything that has happened, I still really do love my husband dearly and if I had one wish (besides the obvious of having my daughter with me) it would be that we could heal together and rebuild. I know that may not be possible, but the wish is still there deep in my heart.

This is just a single data point, but I can tell you that when I have a big argument with Mrs. Fetched, it certainly doesn't calm me down (although it does seem to do that for her too).

Hm. I've accused her of enjoying strife, but I always thought it was because I don't think quickly and so am an easy opponent. Or maybe the easy W is what settles her down. Hm. Stuff to think about....

Oh Ann, I would give anything to have the power to make both those wishes come true. Hope you had a nice weekend in MA. Big (((hugs)))