Search Results for: blog the passive aggressive spouse

Is Your Spouse Your Competitor or Companion?

Not very far from here is a couple that I see every day. Every evening they run past the house as they are out for their evening jog, often they are racing each other. I see them at the swimming pool and I listen to them compare everything from who makes more in a given week to who makes a better Chicken Marsala. (Don’t ask me, I’ve never tried it). They argue, wrangle or negotiate over everything. She spends more time with the kids so he cuts back his work hours to spend at least as much time as she … Continue reading →

The Marriage Blog Week in Review for April 9 – April 13, 2007

As I said earlier in the fitness blog week in review, I’m still a little flummoxed that we’re already at the weekend. This week flew by and here we are at the weekend, taking a swift glance back over our shoulder. We had some great articles this week and I hope you enjoyed them, but if you missed any, here is our marriage blog week in review: Monday, April 9 In the News: Vetoed “Marriage” Bill in California Revisited takes a look at what’s happening in California – for real this time – this isn’t an April Fool’s Joke. In … Continue reading →

The Passive Aggressive Spouse

Is your spouse passive aggressive? The words passive and aggressive seem in direct opposition to each other – but the truth is when your spouse is passive aggressive you may feel like you are sleeping with a porcupine in sheep’s clothing. What Does It Mean For a Spouse to Be Passive Aggressive? A passive aggressive spouse may never seem angry, but you discover that your shorts have been shrunk in the wash or the errand you assumed they were doing is completely skipped. I know one woman who’s always been passive aggressive in her relationships and no matter how furious … Continue reading →

Blundering into Fights — And Getting Back Out

Do you ever sometimes feel like you’ve somehow stumbled into a fight and are not sure how it happened? When we go looking to pick fights we know what we’re up to, but sometimes it seems like all of a sudden we’re fighting with someone and we’re not exactly sure how it happened. This can happen between any two people but it’s certainly common in a marriage, just given that married couples are two people who spend so much time together. The silver lining of picked fights is that, although when we go looking to start one we’re not exactly … Continue reading →

Sending Mixed Signals

While running errands last night, I stopped at a red light and prepared to turn right. Two teenage girls stood on the sidewalk, anxiously studying the lights. From the way they were standing, it looked as though they were preparing to cross the street in front of me. They would need to wait for the next red light in order for that to happen, so when the light turned green and I prepared to turn, I wasn’t expecting them to head north, directly into my path. I slowed to let them cross, but they both turned and looked at me … Continue reading →

The Three R’s of Marriage

You are probably familiar with the “Three R’s” of education: Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic. Well I have come up with the “Three R’s” of marriage: Respond, React and Retreat. The only difference is that with my three R’s, there is just one that works well in a marriage. Can you guess which one? I don’t know if anyone else can relate but I tend to be a reactor. I have been working on this for several years and while I have gotten a lot better, it can still be an issue that creeps up. Sometimes when people react it is … Continue reading →

A Family Divided Cannot Homeschool

In my post-entitled “Supposedly Homeschooling”, I wrote about how a person might deal with their feelings related a homeschooled child who they felt was not being educated. Interestingly enough, I later came across a story about a father in South Carolina who felt his son was not getting a proper education through homeschooling. I was left dumfounded. Obviously, this family is not only divorced, but the parents are somewhat estranged. The father and his mother videotaped the child reading, took the tape to a reading “expert” and reported it to the reporter who wrote the story. This kind of passive … Continue reading →

Marriage Advice: 5 Habits to Give Up

When it comes to making our marriages better and successful, we’re always looking for more information and methods that will allow us to improve our own relationships. For all the advice we may offer to others, we are the greatest audience for this information. I admit that I feel the same way, more often as not, when I write these blogs, I am looking at how the information could be applied to my own marriage. There is wisdom in the notion that we can always learn more about each other and that we can always learn better ways to communicate … Continue reading →

Marriage: Mountains and Molehills

Do you ever exaggerate to make a point? We all do it sometimes, but it is not a good habit. When we exaggerate too often, it begins to erode our credibility. People simply will not take us seriously, if we are prone to wild exaggerations. What about blowing things out of proportion? I think it’s safe to say we’re all guilty of that on occasion as well. When we are stressed, it’s easy to fall into that trap. We make a big deal out of even the smallest issues sometimes, simply because we are frustrated over other things that are … Continue reading →