Managing Conflicts

As of lately, my husband and I always seem to be arguing. There is constantly something he is doing that annoys me which leads me to annoy him by nonstop nagging him about it. (I am currently 36 weeks pregnant and caring for our rambunctious 1 and a half year old all day so I am hormonal and exhausted  24/7 which may explain my short fuse.) Most of our arguments and frustrations are small and often over something that really isn’t that big of a deal. Because of this, we have both come to master repair attempts and not let things escalate more than they need to.

A recurring annoyance and argument we seem to be having is over spilling water on the floor. Whether it is dishes, changing the water jug on the cooler, washing his hands, or anything else to do with water, my husband doesn’t seem to care where the water ends up. This results in water usually being dripped all over the floor and him not caring enough to wipe it up because “it’s just water.” This drives me CRAZY. So naturally this leads into expressing my annoyance and frustrations and him complaining about me nagging. Then usually within minutes of this exact argument, I will fill up my water bottle, clean up dishes, or do something else involving water and spill on the floor, without fail. My husband then in a humorous, mocking manner will give me the same sch-peel I give him about getting water everywhere.  

That is basically how all of our arguments are repaired – by humor and jokes. It almost always works because we have come to know when the other is trying to repair the situation and wanting to make up. By using humor we come closer together and then are able to see the mistakes that we have made and want to apologize to one another. This lighthearted humor in our relationship makes it easy for us to forgive each other as well. When we bring humor into the situation, we no longer feel the anger or negativity because we are laughing and smiling. We realize we like the positive feelings we are having with each other much better. Forgiveness is so vital in all marriages, but especially ours because it helps me to humble myself and think about my husband’s needs over my own. When I forgive my husband over something he did to annoy or hurt me, I feel better about myself and I see the burden and anger lifted from him as well.