I'm afraid I can't help, as far as appreciating what you have. I'm the same way. I really do have a lot to complain about, and there's a lot of changes I want to make, but I admit, while I'm appreciative of some things, I always want more. My boyfriend is a good guy, but I have a lot of complaints, which I do feel are legitimate. I won't go into all my reasons and issues, but just lately, I'm reminded of how I wish he were more confident, assertive and willing to fight for what we want, rather than "settling."

But on other things you said...I don't see my mom in person but for every several weeks or months. I talk to her on the phone almost every day. I don't have a car. She does now, but she's afraid to drive on streets it takes to get here, although my boyfriend says there are back roads she could take. Still, she's the type who might get easily lost; in any case, she's never asked for further information. The other problem is, we have several steps to get into our apartment, and she's not in shape for climbing them.

I feel mad a lot of times about our financial situation, too, because he worked up a lot of credit card debt, and he makes enough money that we shouldn't be struggling. There are lots of people far worse off than we are, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't and couldn't be better. I admit I ask him to buy a lot of books, but even so, he had credit card debt long before he met me.

I understand your concerns about your husband's work future. If he's serious about wanting to do something different, while there are many paths to get there, my advice would be to keep his construction job and take some night classes at college for something he'd like to do. It can be music-related, if that's what he wants to do, but if he just wants to play, he needs to take "gigs" on the side, to see if he could make good money at it. But I'd still advise the college classes, because when you want a career where you can never know if and when you'll be working and how much you'll make, you should have a backup career, where you're making steady money and taking care of your responsibilities (and since he's married to you, you're part of those responsibilities). Like I said, he can do some research on music careers that are more solid than playing gigs and pay well, and get training for that, and it'll also be something he could put on a resume. But until he's got a steady job in that field ready for him, he shouldn't quit his current one. If you really want something, you have to work hard for it. This is only my opinion, and you or others may disagree, but I hope it helps.