The problem is that Kevin needs a lot of time to himself -- and while I don't need a lot of time to myself, it turns out that I need more than I'm getting. Last semester, we had plenty of alone time. He was on a goofy schedule, so he was often up very late, and sleeping very late, which meant that even when we were both home, there were usually 4-6 hours in a day when the other person was sleeping, and effectively not there. This semester, he's teaching three days a week at 9 a.m., so he's trying to keep to a perfectly normal bed-at-midnight, up-at-eight schedule, which is comfortable for me too, and so we've lost that alone time we used to have. (In compensation, going to bed at the same time is rather nice, allowing for snuggling and talking and such. But still.)
That by itself would be manageable, but add in that my sister was here for a week and a half (and having any guest here for that long would strain our sociability), and that since I'm in constant e-mail contact with Duncan as I finish these edits, I need to be working at home all this week, instead of taking a day or two to work in a cafe as I normally do -- well, the alone time has been in short supply. Thus the crankiness.
I've also been pretty frayed by these last few days -- I started getting cranky with Duncan too, a few days ago. I don't recommend getting cranky with your editor. And Kevin has been very supportive, with the hugs and the backrubs and the ordering out of dinners and the letting me watch whatever tv I want when I take my breaks and such. That's a bit of a strain too, though -- it's nice to take care of your sweetie when she needs it, but no one said it wasn't tiring too.
To sum up, I think we'll both be pretty happy to have me off to Karen's for the weekend. I'm going to drive up tomorrow, hang out in the afternoon (though I might have to do some reading then, we'll see), babysit Jeremiah in the evening while Karen and Par go out together for the first time in forever, stay the night, come back early afternoon on Sunday. By then, Kev and I should be able to be un-cranky with each other for the rest of the day. Then I go to Utah for a week, starting Monday, and by the end of that, he'll be missing me and I'll be going nuts from being in Utah, so when I return to Chicago, I expect everything to be back to normal.
It was simpler, living alone. I wouldn't trade, though.