I'm Being Manipulated!

I have just clued in to something that my wife has been doing to me over the last few months.  I believe she is manipulating me!  Outrageous!  Let me explain what I’ve found out.

It all started about half a year to maybe a year ago when she did a couple Bible studies based on Ephesians and Proverbs 31.  I wasn’t totally following the content of the studies, but they had something to do with being a godly woman/wife.  Then I started to notice some subtle manipulations.

All of a sudden I noticed that she doesn’t have a short fuse with me anymore (not that I can blame her when she does).  She is trying to take care of things in the house so I don’t have to be busy when I get home from work.  She is looking after the kids so that I don’t get as frustrated with them with the little things.  She is supporting me and building me up.  She is putting my priorities ahead of her own.  She is showing me way too much love…

I have finally put the whole thing together.  I am not going to stand still for being manipulated!  Two can play at this game!  Now I am going to try to be as considerate as possible with her.  I am going to try to be sensitive to what she needs so I can meet those needs.  I don’t want the kids to run her down too much so I will help out wherever I can.  I want to free her up whenever I can so she can go running and do some of the things she wants to do with her friends.  I want to start being less selfish with my time.  I want to finish off a bunch of things that have been sitting undone at home which she has suspiciously been so understanding about.  I’m going to spend more time convincing her that I love her.  I want to find out how God intends me to be a father and husband and then do those things so I can totally get back at her J  Mwaahahahaha!  Let's see how she likes it when the shoe is on the other foot!

Maybe God spoke to her in those Bible studies.  What an example she has been to me in this.

Think He intended marriage partners to manipulate each other with love in this way?

I'm not that bright...don't tell anyone...

So, today I'm walking around in Walmart, killing time, so of course I go over to the electronics department.  Where else am I going to go to kill time?  We've been talking about getting a wall mount for the TV...ok, so I go check those out.  There are a few there that I think would work pretty good, but they don't have the one in that I would get - they just have the display model which they won't sell me.  It is going to cost about $100.

Yesterday I spent $440 buying a 12 month Leisure Pass for the city.  This gets me into all of the public swimming pools, gyms, etc.  (I should mention here that my wellness allowance from work pays $200 of that 'cause I work for the best company ever) ("Be well John Spartan" - I had to add that.  Every time I think of my company's wellness allowance it reminds me of Demolition Man)  But still, it cost me $240.  I bought one in 2008 that I didn't even use for more than a couple months before I quit going.  Oh, right, this time is going to be better...

The day before that I spent $20 buying something that I'm not even going to mention on here since it is one of the stupidest things I have ever spent $20 on and I don't need to give you all amunition to give me a hard time - you do it enough already.

So on the way home from work today I'm thinking about the TV wall mount again.  Bummed out that they didn't have one in stock so I could buy it right away.  All of a sudden it hits me - why am I so controlled by things that I want to buy?  My emotions, my thoughts - I'm obsessed with stuff...things.

My poor wife does the finances in our house.  She does her best to rein me in, and get this, I have the nerve to be upset with her about it sometimes.  "Why won't she let me spend all our money on buying stuff?  It's my money too isn't it?"  /pouting while I scuff my toe in the dirt...

I have got a never ending list of stuff that I want.  I will never be able to buy everything I want on that list.  Every time, without fail, I buy something from the list, the next thing jumps to the top and a couple days later I am trying to hatch some sort of plan for why I should buy it.  "Oh, that's right, we need X now so much.  X is going to make our lives so much easier.  Are we really making it without X right now?  Yeah, we are, but you know what?  Everything has changed since yesterday when we were doing fine without X but we really needed Y - now we have Y and we are going to be screwed if we don't get X too."  Sheesh, I am so pathetic.

Here is something else I thought of: I go to Walmart to kill time.  I also do this sometimes at Future Shop, Home Depot...  I must be an idiot.  You know, I thought I was pretty bright.  Not one of the brightest, but pretty bright.  I made it through school, got my professional designation - I must be pretty bright to have done that.  Nope, not really.  Somehow I must have managed to fool everyone because really I am an idiot.  Why don't I just bring Elise and Jackson to a soother store and tell them they can't have any...and don't touch anything either.  "Oooo, look Jackson, this soother has an ipod dock, how have you been managing without that on your soother up until now?  Sorry, can't have it."  /crying children...  Of course I'm going to buy stuff if I wander around where all the stuff is!!!!!

Anyway, now that I have identified the problem I'm sure it will be simple to correct this behaviour.  I mean...I am an engineer...problem solving is what we do best...