April 28, 2010

• I Am An Academic Spouce.

  As the wife of an academic, I find this time of the year to be quite trying at best. We are heading into the end of the spring semester, and my husband has been hard at work with very little break to speak of since early last Fall. His stress level is way high, and of course this is compounded by all of the life changes our family has gone through this year in addition to the regular academic cycle.

  This is the time of the year when my husband gets very silly, almost punch drunk until after the last final exam is graded and his grades are turned in for the semester. He is much ruder than usual, but in a humerous way, saying things that he normally wouldn't be so bold to utter. He tells more jokes, he makes fun of situations, he laughs at everything, and he finds everything that much more entertaining in general.

  This is all great for a while. As his wife I enjoy seeing my husband happy.

  But then his happiness turns to rediculousness and that energy amps up until it reaches manic-ness as we get closer and closer to the actual end of the semester. Many of my friends say they experience the same thing with their spouce. It's fun for a while, but heads straight into bizzare very quickly.

  While I love the extra playfulness around the house, I'm never sure that my husband has actually heard what I've said, taken what I've said seriously, or understood that he is responsible in some way for what I've said. "Remember to pick the children up from the sitter on your way home from work tomorrow," thus becomes some kind of challenge for me to get him to understand that it is he that is supposed to do this. The trash doesn't get taken out, doors get left open, tvs get left on..... I have to follow him around just to make sure the house is secure. It's a crazy time of year.

  Can you think of any other profession that is like this?

  Do I need to join some kind of spoucal support group?

  • 12:21 pm
  • 4 Comments