For 17 years Sara has been picking up her husband’s clothes from off the floor. Having tried unsuccessfully every way she could to get him to put his belongings away Sara is resigned to the situation realizing there are much bigger issues and the package she was given is a good one. Sometimes though she wonders why her husband doesn’t make an effort to change this small behavior as she’s made it clear so many times that it bothers her.
Talia works full-time. In the evenings after the kids are in bed she looks forward to curling up on the couch with a good book. Her husband Yosef is talkative and likes to share the ins and outs of his day with her. She closes the book when he comes into the room but he often feels frustrated. Seeing the glazed look in his wife’s eyes he knows that her body may be in the room but her mind is on the characters of her book.
They’ve spoken about it many times and Talia maintains that she’s listening when Yosef speaks. It’s not the biggest deal and Yosef lives with it but he has to fight a feeling of defeat several times a week.
When two people live together it’s inevitable that misunderstandings will occur. Even without malicious intent there are times when each will be hurt by something their spouse says or does. As the years pass those hurts get added to the luggage we carry with us in our lives. In extreme cases if the hurts aren’t addressed the suitcase can start to feel very heavy.
