I dropped my wife off at her Father's house last night as they were leaving early this morning for their trip. My plan was to not initiate any physical contact or emotional exchange etc, simply wish her a safe trip. On the drive over to her parent's house, she mentioned that she felt bad about leaving the family behind and wished that we were coming with her. During my last conversation with her on family travel, she indicated that travelling as a family wasn't doing anything for her and that she was not interested in doing this anymore.
I carried her bag into the house and we had some discussion around minor details about the trip and the kids. I thne said that I needed to get going and to have a safe trip. She leaned into me and said thanks for letting her go on the trip and helping get organized. She then moved into closer to give me a kiss. It looked like it was directed to my lips, but I turned my head slightly and let her kiss me on the cheek. I kissed her back in the same manner.
It was the first time that she has initiated any sort of physical contact in over 18 months. It was totally unexpected based on her past behaviour. I am not going to read to much into it, but it certainly was a 180 on her part.
Anyway, a couple of minor behaviour changes on her part. I now have 10 days to work further on being a great parent while my wife is away. Part of my wife's concerns with me is that I was a poor father and that my 3 kids were afraid of being alone with me due to my angry approach. I have made a huge improvement in this area and really want to excell over the next 10 days.
