You’ve noticed your wife has been more stressed than usual lately. She has a new boss who’s been giving her a hard time, and at the end of the day she is just burnt out, and crabby. You hate to see her that way.
You tried all your usual tricks, a massage after work, a glass of wine with dinner, but she wasn’t responding to any of it, so you decided to try something new. Since the new year she’s been really trying to drink more water. She has a Stanley cup and she fills it up from the fridge spigot during breaks, so her cup is always full for her to sip on during the work day.
While she’s in one of her long meetings you adjust the supply lines in the fridge, to make things a little more fun. Not enough that she could taste anything, but hopefully enough to make her days a little easier.
She comes and fills her cup up not long after you make the switch, and you do your best to keep your smile to yourself. She’s tense and frowning to herself, barely smiles at you when you say hi, acknowledging you with a short nod. You busy yourself around the house, working on some projects, and when she emerges from her office next she smiles at you. She seems more relaxed, but she hasn’t had enough yet to feel anything really. You give her a kiss, and when she goes back into her office you make another adjustment, increasing the ratio.
She joins you for lunch later, and she definitely seems more relaxed now. She’s fills her cup again, and you slide the plate over, you’ve made sandwiches for both of you. She’s able to talk and laugh with you over your meal, which hasn’t happened in weeks. By the time you’ve finished lunch she’s finished another cup, and fills it again. She giggles when you pull her close to kiss her, swatting you away, and retreating to her office.
You have to run some errands after lunch, so you’re out of the house for a few hours. You come home a little late, with takeout for dinner. You’re delighted to find out that she’s logged off on time for once, her office is closed, and she’s in the living room, holding a glass of wine in one hand, her trusty Stanley cup in the other. She beams beautifully at you, calling your name as you walk through the door. “Hii baby!” She slurs slightly, “I hope you don’t mind I started without you!”
You think you’re going to have fun with this new toy. Maybe tomorrow you can play with the ratio a little more…