GEL,

"War stories" are always good for comiseration. I have a bunch of those myself (probably not as interesting as yours though). I have a feeling that there are lots more to come in the next year.

One of the questions I have for myself is... what way is best for "bringing things up" with my W? I could approach her with "I" statements, carefully worded so that they do not sound like attacks on her. I could ask her open-ended questions (such as, "are you really happy with our life right now, or do you just have no time/energy to work on being happy?") and see what her reaction is, expecting that I'll have to answer these questions myself. I could give her some ideas to think about for a week and then revisit them with her, after we've both thought about them. Can you tell me what's worked for you?


- Chris.