It took more than half my nearly-five-decade marriage for me to be smacked in the face with this reality. For some reason, I had it in my head for SO MANY years that ours was an extraordinary partnership that defied the status quo.
As I finally, painfully figured out...not so much.
My husband can quote the most minute, random statistics from any sport in which he is interested: football, basketball, and baseball, primarily.
But he cannot for the life of him remember what I told him about making the bed or where to put dishes away--even though he uses these things every day and should know from simple observation how they go,.
I used to think he aggressively "forgot" or "didn't listen" simply because the information came from me. It used to make me crazy.
Actually, not much has changed on that front. I still think he doesn't hear me on purpose.
I just don't let it make me as crazy as it used to. This is something to which you apply the maxim: "You can't change the behavior of others, you can only change how you react to it."
And, let's face it, I used to really take his selective deafness personally. Like, I must be a remarkably horrible harpy if my husband actively practices to "not hear" me. When I see memes like this posted by perfect strangers, I get it. It's not me, it's just...the species.
Too, by this stage of life, you just don't want to waste time and energy being upset about things you cannot change.
It is what it is.
Sigh!
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