In retrospect I see that things escalated a lot farther than they should have.
I also admit that half of it is my fault.
It’s not all my fault, Ed had a hand in it too, but I definitely share the blame. Usually I smoke my cigarettes out on the porch, but this last winter was particularly harsh and that wasn’t possible. I smoked in my bedroom, which caused problems for Ed. Even though I smoked in my room with the door shut, the smokey smell permeated the other rooms. Ed told me I had to quit, or else I needed to buy an air purifier to eliminate the toxic odors. I told Ed that I could do what I wanted in my room, and also that I couldn’t afford to buy an air purifier. Instead he bought an air purifier for his own room, which was fine by me. The resentment continued to build, however, and one day it came to a head while I was trying to reprogram the smart thermostat. Since he had paid for the smart thermostat, he told me to leave the programming alone. Of course I had to clap back at him, because this is my house too and I can adjust the thermostat settings when I please. This time it escalated into violence and we had a little fistfight in the hallway. I missed a punch, and smashed the smart thermostat to pieces. I also broke my hand on the plastic housing, but Ed didn’t care, he was just angry about the thermostat.