That temper....

Spouse:
I have to watch myself. While my parents raised their children well, handling other people's emotions effectively was not part of their itenerary(sp?). My sibs and I tend to get annoyed when people emote a bit too long, lashing out if the speaker begins to what we consider "whine."

We don't handle whine well, either the verb or the noun.

My spouse started bad as usually. While we discussed it and other issues, I became annoyed. Finally, I snapped, NOT saying words of comforts. We retreated into goodbyes. I headed for the gym, thinking about the issue during the drive. I called at the gym and apologizes. We made little talk, got our smiles back, and I worked out.

Our relationship has lasted such spats before and I'm confident it will continue. But we both hate such "sparks"; unlike a lot of couples we know, confrontations like the one above are quite rare. Thus, when we have them, we NEVER forget them. We have no desire for such events to become "habit".

Shakespeare said love is service. Listening to one's love as they admit pain is just one manifestation of it. I MUST continue to learn; this relationship is too important to me.