But before I get there, the fact is -- and no 2x4s please -- I CAN'T get out of the house more. My job is 2x week in an office, 3x week at home. That's been our arrangement for 9 years. Her job is 5x week office w/ a 1.5 hour commute.
Now I could hard-core 180 and go 5x week to the office, but it would completely discombobulate our children -- so kid pickup, dinner, karate, etc. is all me -- and I'm not sure up-ending the childrens' lives would get me closer to my goal (always remembering that MWD teaches us to ask if any action will get us closer or further).
Furthermore, because I telecommute to the other side of the world when at home, I hit the sack around 9:30 (to get up early enough to talk during THEIR business hours). So I can't just blow out of the house at 8:15 when W comes home, because I'll be for sh** the next day.
Like the coaches say elsewhere, ya gotta DB, but you have to make it applicable to yr sitch. Not a recipe book.
SO today W takes D to the mall for some new clothes; phones home (pick up a pizza?). O.K. Can you call it in? Sure. (pause) What're you doing? (the S and I stayed home). Playing. (pause) Well, okay, so order the pizza....
And so forth.
But at the table it begins.... "Sooooo." But DrHemlock hung tough, or mostly tough, right up to the point where he would have had to be rude to stay dim -- and couldn't do that in front of two children.
So I just redirected, talked about some work stuff and some phone conversations I've had w/ mutual friends ("did you tell them?" / of course not).
