Guilty as charged.. I am a WAW.

[Bridgestone]

Good morning all,
A late night and early morning, not a good combination for me.

Am trying to finish a presentation for the online course I'm helping teach this summer. It is on a topic I'm not entirely comfortable with, nor am I familiar with the technology that allow me to create it so it can be online. It has been a slow process, but one that kept my mind occupied to help pass the time yesterday.

Went out to lunch upon H's last minute request yesterday. Tried to relax into the moment, take a page from the LBS manual and act 'as if', not chase cheeseless tunnels, and what do I get from H?

"What is wrong with you?" When I looked at him and could honestly say, "nothing" with out adding my usual Why? on the end, said with a smile & squeeze of his leg (as he sat next to me in the booth). He went quiet, and was withdrawn the rest of the lunch & ride back home. I kept up my people watching and running dialouge with S. about college & work, and with D about her favorite subject 're-decorating'. Trying to include him in the conversation, but he was withdrawn and really only engaging with the kids.

All in all it was a really OK day for me. Then he called around 11:30 last night and seemed (ok he was, not just seemed) really terse & short about 'dealing with Daughter.' over the next few days.

I tried to empathetically listen to his frustrations of parenting a teen age daughter in this particular situation. Which only seemed to frustrate him more.

He snapped at me, some back-handed remark about being not his choice that she was at his house & her friends were 20 minutes away (actually that is not true, as we agreed to send her to this school 20 minutes away almost 3 years ago, long before I left).

When I really didn't take the bait, which I took as his trying to guilt me about leaving him (this would have been something I would have handled pre-separation) and just said something about I can understand the difficulty in lining up social time for the kids when things are hectic in the adult side of life (I really can, I have done it for years). He grunted and said good night.

OK guys...can you give me a DAM interpretation of this behaviour & talk?

I have tried not to get to wrapped up in his outbursts of late, but when they revolve around the kids & impact their lives, I feel this is one area, we really need to communicate regardless of the outcome of the R.

OK>. I really need to get to work on this presentation again as I need to be on the road here shortly and the finishing touches need to go on.