Feeling needy.

We all need somebody... right?

Today I watched as my wife struggled to deal with her sense of smell. We are not sure yet (or she is not sure rather) that she may have an infection that is causing her to smell cigarette smoke all the time. A quick google search brings up a lot of things, but her initial phone call with a doctor's assistant thinks its cause results from a sinus infection (also in the results) that causes the condition of parosmia that she is experiencing. 

It must be really unpleasant as she grimaces and snarls (more than usual) and looks disgusted (more than usual too) all the time. I don't really know what she is experiencing and I can empathize, but that's as far as I can go. I offer to help, but I am not a doctor (though I am sure she has wished for that one a lot). All I can do is offer to do “other” things (not what you are thinking you dirty-minded perv!) that offer no relief. I feel helpless. 

So, we move on

She goes to the doctor in a few days and she will know more then, but today we were at my daughter's waterpolo games and I could see that my wife was highly annoyed and frustrated in general. So, I tried to lay low and keep my distance. During the game I let my little one sit in my seat while I stood behind them on the bleachers. It's a fine art to distance one's self while still remaining "involved" - I have a lot of practice in this area. If you need to know how it's done, call me. 

Anyway…

We went to Denny's after

We went to Denny's for the girl's "after game feast" (they lost btw) and my wife did not want to attend at first mention. I totally understand why, but my wife always wants our kids to experience playing on a team and the joy and fellowship that comes with playing on a team. She really values that in sports and up until a few years ago I didn't value it myself (solo rebel and all), but I have seen the difference "joining a team" has made in my life and our children's lives. What I didn't expect was how joining the team's parent table affected my wife's day.

The parent's table

While we sat down and ordered food etc. I watched my wife's demeanor change as she started conversing with the other parents. She laughed, shared stories, talked about the waterpolo club, the season, work, etc. So many topics! She smiled a lot and only grimaced and snarled a few times (inner dialogue: ... “was that one about what I just said?”). My wife didn't feel like eating (her sense of smell was making it impossible), but she had coffee and nibbled off my plate. She left that table laughing and chatting and I kept thinking to myself “We all need somebody.” We need others in our lives to save us from our own thoughts, our own misery, or even our own sense of smell gone haywire. We all need a distraction from traffic, work, a failed class, broken heart, medical condition, or just from our personal misery of “foot-in-mouth-disease” (or is that just me?), but we all do need somebody, even if we “think” we don't.

The lesson I learned? Sometimes I may not be that “somebody” that my wife needs, but I can be glad that she found the somebody she needed today.  

LET THEM EAT cupCAKEs

We left there to get some cupcakes because cupcakes are comfort food and if there is one thing a girl wants after losing a waterpolo game, it's cupcakes! So... let them eat!