The thing I do that drives my husband crazy (not like that, this is a PG-rated post) is that when I am concentrating deeply on something I don’t hear him if he tries to talk to me. When I am in that mode, I don’t hear anything at all outside of my own head.

I also don’t use call waiting. If I am talking to someone and he tries to call me, I don’t switch calls. I call him back when I’m done talking to that person. It’s not just him, it’s anyone, including our kids.

When I am having a conversation or doing a mental task, I give that person or task my full, undivided attention. It’s not something I trained myself to do, it’s just how I’ve always done things. It could be an empathic trait or maybe it is some kind of survival mode that I auto-developed due to childhood trauma. Either way, I don’t think it’s such a terrible thing. Attention is valuable. People are valuable. The tasks I choose to spend time on are valuable.

But, my hubby is invaluable to me. To be sure he knows this, I need to find a way to let his voice penetrate my deep concentration moments without him having to shout on the third try.

Our tenth anniversary is coming up in just a couple of weeks. Between now and then, I am making the commitment to correct this very old habit that drives him nuts. He is worth the effort. If it is important to him, it’s important to me.

After all these years, our wedding day is still the happiest day of my life and every day since has felt like a blissful dream. My heart has grown bigger and fuller because of my love for my darling.

I’m still not using call waiting, though.