Yup. I was proud of the husband's fortitude when my mom was here, LOL, he'd get this LOOK on his face and then go dig his wash/drainage ditch for a couple hours... in the 104 degree heat.
It worked well for him, LOL, the minute I returned from the airport and walked inside, he had a gigantic combat PTSD meltdown. I just looked at him yelling and was like, "Am I your safe space, honey?"
He was like, "Yes." I mean, he dealt with the whole furnace/duct cleaning thing DURING her visit. I gave him MAJOR props and was like, "You can yell as much as you want."
He immediately stopped, and just gave me a hug. I was like, "I'm so proud of you! I at least got to fight with my mom ONCE." Heh.
Not necessarily stable as the grave, but man, I could see him age every single day she was here, but he kept it together. He's now muttering about "Was it really that bad?": I was like, "YES IT WAS. You should do NOTHING until you feel ready to party like it's 2019."
Anna
ETA: Before lithium I DID have a straightjacket, heh. I'd use it if I was getting too... ugh. The husband was so sweet he'd stand there making sure I could breathe until I was ready to come "out." After a couple years, we were like "Dentures and lithium are better than straight jackets, and BURNED it." LOL, it was oddly satisfying
