[Critique Group 1] Shifting Gears 313 words for critique

[Marcia Wick]

Shifting Gears

Marcia J. Wick, The Write Sisters

February 2018

Word Count:  313

 

Having a bipolar husband is like getting two men for the price of one. My
spouse's physique and facial features even seem to change as he shifts from
low to high. Like Jekyll and Hyde, he has two personas. When he is reluctant
and withdrawn, I have abundant hours of quiet time at home for reading and
writing; when he is driven and energized, we get out and about. Each cycle
accentuates his best and worst qualities. In low gear, he is contemplative,
tolerant, attentive, and kind. At the same time, he is lagging, brooding,
napping, and watching endless hours of television. We decline invitations, I
attend family gatherings alone, and we hang out in opposite ends of the
house. This routine runs my life for a couple of years until, overnight, my
husband shifts into high gear. I wake up with a man bubbling over with ideas
and aspirations. He changes the furnace filter, calls three old friends,
buys a new car, and starts planning a family reunion. He seems unaware that
he has been resurrected.  He emerges from two years of doldrums and
withdrawal into a world bursting with possibilities. He is a hurricane,
exploring volunteer and work opportunities, planning road trips and
reunions, shopping and eating. Everything comes in big doses; it's like
gorging for two weeks after a two-year famine. I lose my appetite watching
my husband's consumption. Having lived with the man for six years now, I
recognize the start of a new cycle. I don't know if it is unusual for a
person to remain in an intense manic state for years before sinking into an
equally long period of "why bother" and "who cares," before rising again to
the surface, but this time, I am prepared. I recognize what he does not; he
has shifted from 1st gear into 4th, while I am stuck in second.

 

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