gotta bite the bullet!

My hubby is a very active and busy guy.  In fact, sometimes he's  WAY TOO BUSY and always been and seemed to prefer to be with others than with me.  I know, in my heart, that that isn't the case.  It isn't about "me" vs "them" but rather about his need to "move" - either socially or physically.  It isn't that I'm a bump on a log - but I've always believed family and spouses come first and that more attention should be give them before anything else.  That's the way my parents have been and still are.  To him - I've complained over the years that he needed more balance and that he needed to spend more time with the boys and myself.  He thought coaching our boys was "quality" time and that one and one with our boys or together wasn't as important, I guess.  And when it came to the two of us -  he seemed to  think that spending time together with other couples was "time together".  
Now that the boys are grown - he continues with all of his outside activities - and now I've become even more verbal about it because I've learned to be more assertive and complained more, I guess.  Well, maybe it was the tears a few weeks back or maybe it's because when I'm with him we've been having a lot of laughs, but on Monday (after we left a church group that we've helped run) he announced that he wasn't going to go to his tennis practice the next night - that he was going to "stay home" with me -because that what I want.  I want?  Guess beggars can't be choosers and I shouldn't get too upset that that is the reason he's staying "home" with me - not because HE wants to.
 Well, wouldn't you know - he wanted me to go clothes shopping with him so we didn't "stay home".  He needed some clothes and thought we'd grab a bite to eat and then shop.  I couldn't tell him no - even though I wasn't feeling well. After all - he skipped tennis!  So I bit the bullet - went out and had fun - even though I was feeling "yucky". We ended up having a good time, he found everything he needed and easily (for a change) and then thanked me profusely for helping him.   
We do have fun and he does  make me laugh!  The stress our youngest "put us through" really affected our relationship there for awhile.  I didn't realize how much until the stress was gone.
Update:  I just called him to see what time he was coming home for dinner and he said he was enjoying himself on a friend's sailboat.  Now I know why he skipped tennis - it was because of this outing.  Wish he would have let me know then I wouldn't have bothered with dinner.  Looks like he might be late for our soccer game too.  Oh well...