I know that this is one area that I have come to resent. I have spent years getting criticized for not being "supportive enough", but not once in the M have my W ever said "Thank you for working so hard to earn enough to support our family".
I've started to get a bit bitter about it.
Of course you're bitter about it, everyone wants to be appreciated for the things we do and the people we are but we don't appreciate things that are commonplace. What gets more attention is the infrequent & almost non-existent things. That's why when a spouse leaves, you miss them. You had them, took them for granted in one way, shape or form and now want them back.
What also gets attention is all the mistakes you make. You can do 10 things right but they'll all be nearly forgotten when you do that 1 thing wrong, negative things get more attention and hold more weight inside our heads - negative is associated with pain, we tend to remember pain more.
And while you're working full time and providing for your family, you come home at the end of the day, exhausted because you aren't just clocking 8 hours a day, it's more like 10 or 12 and you come home looking for refuge, a place to relax and recuperate but you still have to take into account you just can't veg when you get home: you have a partner that requires attention, care & nurturing and when those things are missing, they will miss it, resent you for not doing your part and you will be angry because you aren't being understood as someone who is tired and requires care & nurturing either. 24 hours in one day isn't enough anymore.
