I should be the expert on anger because I've allowed it to practically run my life. It seems to be (or used to be) my response to almost everything. If I felt hurt, offended, embarrassed, guilty, frightened, etc, etc, it seemed I got angry. I have tried to work on this one, and examine what my response really is that triggers the anger. Now, if my feelings are hurt, I try to just stay with that emotion instead of masking my real emotions by getting angry. It's been a growth experience for me.
It's funny that I get somewhat nervous about H's irritability because now he's acting more like me! Maybe it's payback for me to have to deal with what I've often dished out. But now that I try not to take ownership of H's or anyone else's moods, life is a lot easier.
I'm not quite sure why H show's more irritability than he used to. I think part of it may be that he's just letting more of his emotions out these days - he was the original silent type before. He's not in a general angry mode so I'm not extremely concerned. And since I don't react, his irritations don't last very long. Example - The other night H got caught in the rain on his motorcycle and boots got soaked. He left them to dry and the next time he went to put them on he threw a little hissy fit because they were all stinky. I just ignored him and after he left, wearing other boots, I sprayed inside the boots with Febreeze. Problem solved.
