hi sue,
i know the feeling well. i get irritable just from noise sometime, it is because we are in pain and already using all we have to deal with that. and i don't know how to handle not being alone sometimes. it is a necessity to me to be alone and just hear nothing.
as far as kids go, like i said, they give us good feeling while they take our last ounce of energy. it is not patience or love you are lacking, it is just that your body and mind and spirit are over taxed.
i am here for you my friend, your hip sister, joan