WOMEN!!!

According to Merriam-Webster online:
Addict- to devote or surrender (oneself) to something habitually or obsessively (addicted to gambling)
Enabler- one that enables another to achieve an end; especially : one who enables another to persist in self-destructive behavior (as substance abuse) by providing excuses or by making it possible to avoid the consequences of such behavior

I absolutely love my wife to death. I truly truly do. She is a wonderful person. She is drop dead gorgeous(Everyone is required, by law, to say that about their wife, I know. But she really is beautiful. She's got these baby blue eyes that will just kill you.). She is so giving and unselfish and is very much one of the most caring individuals I have ever met. And she absolutely drives me batty sometimes.
I have not once received a complete and total banhammer. I have been made to feel so extremely guilty that I did not want to fire up the 360. I have even been intelligent enough to read into what was being said to know I best not turn it on. At least once every two weeks or so she will pitch a good 15-20 minute fit about how much time I spend playing "that stupid war game". I take the hint and don't turn it on for a day or two. I guess, in reality, those would be self-imposed banhammers. She has never once come out and said "Do not", or "You can not", turn on the 360. But, I know what is going on and am smart enough to leave the box alone for a day or so. To that end, I do recognize the fact that my playing time does on occasion become a bit excessive. I also recognize that at times my behavior in relation to wanting to play KoD4 does rival that of an addict. Examples submitted as evidence-
The Wednesday after KoD4 came out I played sick that evening so as not to get a guilt trip from her about staying home from church to play KoD4. The Thursday and Friday after KoD4 came out I left work at 1:00 each day to go to meetings. Of course, those meetings were XBL conferences with Timmie & Co. Of course there are the multiple nights of staying up until the wifey was waking up for the day. And then the coup de gras... Sunday afternoons are for cleaning at the Johnson household. About a month ago, the wifey wanted to take a nap before cleaning. I agreed due to having stayed up until about 4:30 the previous night playing KoD4 and Guitar Hero III with her. We got home from church, at lunch, and climbed into the bed by 1:00 or so. She is very much a sleep whore(can sleep anywhere anytime) and was gone within 5 minutes. I proceeded to do the world famous lift arm, slink out out of the bed without making a sound maneuver perfected by most men in their college days. I proceeded to spend the next hour cleaning every inch of the house (with exception of vacuuming). I then fired up the gamebox and spent the next hour playing KoD4. I shut the box down after an hour and then proceed to do the reverse slink out lift arm maneuver quietly returning to the bed. I lay there for about 10 minutes to ensure the wifey was truly asleep and then proceed to wake her. She quickly realizes I had cleaned the entire house while she was asleep. Of course I received payment for this, not of the monetary type. But what she doesn't know is, I actually did it so I could spend the majority of the evening playing the gamebox without her complaining or her feeling guilty. The payment I received was nothing more than the cherry on top(if you'll excuse the pun).
There are plenty more examples I could provide. But, I believe this to be plenty of evidence in support of my claim I am addicted to both gaming and KoD4.
I'll move on, despite the sheer mountains of other evidence I could provide. I am sure many of you reading this could also lay claim to being an addict.
Back to that statement of my wife driving me batty. Like I mentioned, at least once every couple of weeks she will get on that "You play too much!" kick. Then she will go and do something like I blogged about a month or so ago (See blog dated 11/01/07). Now she has really gone and done it, though. For Christmas she went and got me a PSP! I am most definitely a big time 360 fanboy. I'll never own a PS3. The PS2 was great and served it's purpose well. But with the PS3 lead up and launch being the absolute disaster it was, as well as the lack of exclusive titles for the system, I have no desire to ever even look at one. BUT, I do have to gush about the PSP. This little bugger is amazing. It does not fit well in the hands. But other than that, it is all inclusive. Game Informer (which I read religiously) has repeatedly banged on Sony for not providing more and better titles for this thing and I understand why now. The graphics are truly amazing for a handheld. The sound over my Bose headphones is absolutely unreal. The wifey got me Fight Night Round 3 with it. I have been eyeballing this game since I got my 360. Had it not been for me renting CoD2 and instantly becoming obsessed with this franchise, I likely would have bought this for the 360 well over a year ago. This evening I get to go get the new Socom title for the PSP for my birthday. I spent almost the entire day yesterday playing Fight Night. If I get Socom tonight, I hope all my Duty mates will certainly understand my significant decrease in time playing KoD4.
I say all of that to say this. I am a gaming addict. I can not and will not deny that fact. But, I truly have a much better understanding of the behavior of addicts' family members. I have done some counseling in my career with addicts. Watching family members continually enabling them is so sad. Seeing how my wife deals with my gaming addiction gives me so much more insight into that now. Family members just want the addict to be happy. Providing for that addiction helps make the addict happy. But then the addict crosses some line(staying up until 6:00 A.M. on a Friday playing KoD4 and then being tired and grumpy all day on Saturday while antique shopping with the wifey). The family member gets angry with the addict and shuns the addict in some manner(the banhammer). But then the family member sees the addict struggling in some manner(a really really bad week at work). The family member then tries to lift the addict's spirits(buying GH III). And on and on it goes.
I guess I shouldn't say anything about my wife driving me batty. After looking at all of this I have typed, her behavior makes perfect sense. In reality, I think it is my behavior that is a little more on the batty side. I guess that's why we use words like play, games, and toys to describe these things. I am still just a kid. Sometimes I act like one too.