I sent off an article last night, after much dithering. Eric finished his grading. We lamented our mutual lack of productivity. We squabbled. "Why are we so irritable lately?" I asked him after showering. "They say that the first year of marriage is the hardest, but it's been, what...nine months? Ten?"
"Well, partly it's the situation," he said. "Student teaching is probably annoying me subconsciously--"
"We're not getting as much sleep as we should," I said.
"Yup, and then the winter is dragging on, that's bothering us both."
"And there's the lack of money."
"No wonder we're irritable."
"I guess so." He went away and I toweled my head. A moment later I opened the bathroom door and called to him, "Do you think a lot of couples analyze themselves like this?"
"No," he said. "Maybe that's why we'll make it?"