I’m far from perfect. Sometimes I don’t handle things very well.

The other day was a good example. John and I had gone shopping and it seemed every time I did something, it was wrong. I was trying, but I kept getting it wrong. Situation after situation backfired. It was escalating.

I’ve always been taught that “intentions” count. If you intend to do something kind and it doesn’t go as you’d hoped, you shouldn’t be given a black mark. You tried! Your efforts may not have produced the desired results, but being punished for your mistake is inappropriate.

I felt like a child being scolded even though I had hoped to do something kind for him.

But here’s where I went wrong…

Instead of realizing that John is dealing with health concerns that wear on him, I was angry or hurt or a bit of both. I know that was wrong of me. His attitude is understandable. He is human and feeling rotten all the time and losing ground with his health is difficult to deal with.

So what did I do?

I called a girlfriend and left. I spent the afternoon with her. I felt I needed to escape. I needed to get away. I told him I’d be a cell phone call away.

But John can’t escape. He is ill and it’s a progressive deterioration. He knows he’s not getting better.

At the time, it seemed that spending time apart was the best way to handle the problem. I was gone for nearly three hours. When I came back, he’d taken a peaceful nap and everything was fine. I felt better and so did he.

Should I have handled things differently, or did I respond correctly?

I try to be there for him, and it was one of the first times I’d been away from him in months. But I was running away. I diffused the situation but it was a coward’s way out.

Was I wrong?