Hi everyone!
Begin on a high, cheery note. Helps the tension fade away.
Waiting…
No? Okay. Well, one must try to move forward with one’s day in any case.
Husbands, you’ve talked to yourself I’m sure, endured a restless night’s sleep and… Stop it. Be honest!
Okay, you’re right. More like fully awake most of the night suffering the mental anguish of rehearsing the morning conversation to come, what you’ll say, how she’ll respond, what you’ll come back with: “Yes, that’s true, but you don’t understand…” No, you think, remember what you learned from last time, don’t ever say “don’t understand”, it’s a non-starter. Say instead, “Let me explain dear what I think you’re missing.” Don’t say “missing”, too judgmental!
Crap, you’re right. You roll over in bed, again. For the twenty eighth time. The red light glows 2:39 am. Only four hours left to get it right. Right?
Well yes, right. Isn’t that the point of a discussion, to be right as possible, to get your point of view across? No. The point is to listen. Just listen and try to understand.
I see.
…
At the end of the day you sidle up to the bar stool, hop aboard and order your favorite.
You hear the bartender say: “Oliver Twist.”
You look up, “Excuse me?”
“Olive, or twist?”
“Oh, sorry, olives. Three please.”
And you laugh because she, your wife, once told you a funny story about her mother when she was asked the same question, “Oliver or twist.” But the bartender repeated it so fast she didn’t understand, couldn’t figure out what on earth Oliver Twist had to do with the drink she’d just ordered.
And it’s then that you remind yourself just how fortunate you are to be your wife’s husband. How you wouldn’t want it any other way, or with anybody else.
