This is self explanatory, but a very important winter function. Inevitably, during the active field season, I end up digging myself into a very deep, expansive, and possibly never ending hole. I avoid doing various household tasks to hit the field. I skip out on spending time with my wife to go on day/weekend trips. I bail last minute on dinner plans due to storms and favorable conditions. The list goes on and on. By the end of March (yes, less than 1 month in the season), my name is mud.
So winter is wife time. I do things. I put in my time and I pay my dues. In fact, I do things happily, with a smile on face. I go to plays, the mall, and any function our friends might be putting together. In fact, I actually invite people over to our place as well. I get active and stay visible. I buy flowers. We go on trips to cities. This usually works to some extent. A major draw back to this plan is that when you disappear in the spring your absence is definitely noted. There might be some truth to "setting your bar low" and just never doing anything. Hate to raise expectations too high in the offseason...
There are measures one can take to help with damage control during the field season. "We" got dogs. Now when I herp, I am taking the dogs for "much needed exercise". Ha, what a sneaky trick. When friends are planning summer events, I always push and offer to plan the canoe brew trip or a nice camping trip. Then I am able to make sure we visit rivers and areas of the state where chances for "accidental" encounters are high. I also purchase dog park passes to the local parks with the best fauna. When my wife wants to "go to the dog park" but not go to a park and herp with the dogs, everyone wins.
This has worked alright for me in the past. They tricks usually can't work miracles but they buy me some good grace. All in all, I am extremely lucky. Molly gives me space and time and pursue my own hobbies and interests. I pay my dues when I can though because you never know when that 11pm spring storm will roll through.
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| Dog Exercise |
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| Brew Trip |
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| Fall Camping (too cold to herp) |
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| Cutting the xmas tree |
BH
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