Men
often hear what we want to hear. It gets us into trouble. My interpretation
skills have been honed by the numerous misunderstandings I’ve encountered. Today,
I can usually find the true meaning between the words women speak. When I misinterpret,
I simply add the mistake to lessons learned, wipe the wine from my face, and
trudge forward.
For
example, when a woman says, “Nothing’s wrong,” something most definitely is wrong
and the man shall pay. The foolish man hears her words and assumes he has a
pass. Silly boy.
“Are you
sure, honey?”
“Yes, of
course.”
“So, you
won’t mind if I stay for one more beer?”
“No, not
at all. Take your time and have fun with the boys, sweetie.”
“You’re
not mad?”
“Why
would I be mad? I have plenty to do around here.”
“You’re
the best. Hey, don’t bother waiting up for me. I know how you need your sleep.”
“Oh, so
you plan on being home late?”
“Gee, I
don’t know. I just don’t want you to wait up.”
“OK,
that’s fine.”
“Thanks,
honey. You’re the best.”
“No
problem.”
*click*
That man
thinks he’s sailing the glassy seas on The Love Boat, but he’s really up Shit’s
Creek rowing with teaspoons in a slowly deflating inner tube.
After he
hangs up, he returns to his pack of wild apes and proudly proclaims he has the
coolest wife ever.
“She
trusts me.”
“Wow.
She didn’t give you any attitude at all?”
“Nope.
She said to stay out as late as I want.”
“Interesting.”
“What?
You think she’s just saying that?”
“It’s
possible.”
“Hm.
Maybe I should call her back.”
Mr.
Oblivious heads back outside and redials the wife. The call goes straight to
voicemail because the wife is now on the phone with her BFF.
“He
what?”
“I know.
I deal with assholes all day at work and all I want to do is come home and
unwind with a glass of wine and conversation. Instead, I find his cereal bowl
on the table, his muddy shoes on the carpet, and a half-drank beer sitting next
to the coaster on my antique end table.”
“Oy.”
“Then,
he has the nerve to call me after I’m halfway through making a casserole to say
he went to happy hour with the guys.”
“I have
a chilled bottle of La Crema begging us to drink it.”
“Ugh, I’m
so mad at him.”
“You don’t
think he’s fooling around with someone at work, do you?”
“No, but
it wouldn’t surprise me to find out they’re at Hooters or a titty bar.”
“See?
This is why I stay single. When I need a man, I do what it takes, get what I
need, and pat his fanny as I escort him out of my life.”
“I’m
probably overreacting. Fuck it. Bring that bottle over. Let’s get buzzed and watch
some trash TV.”
“Excellent.”
“When
dickhead gets home I’m totally going to play dead and not let him touch me.”
“That’s
what he deserves.”
The man
is under such a self-delusion that he probably won’t realize his misdeed until
the wife brings it up three months later as part of a new argument. Ah, love.
You have an excellent grasp of female communication.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why women do this. The only reason I can think of is because we want our men to KNOW they should be coming home and do the right thing without needing to be told.
Unfortunately many men don't appear to take this point of view, as the few times I tried to skip the 'nothing's wrong' conversation and tell him what was actually wrong, it just ended in an argument about how unreasonable I was being for not letting him see his mates and have some down time.
In some things, the chasm between men and women is light years wide I think.
Maybe women play these games because if we don't TELL him what's wrong and hear his godawful answer we can continue to delude ourselves into believing that men are something they are not. For our sanity.
Note: In saying this I do acknowledge there are exceptions to EVERY rule and I'm not saying all men are the same.
Women do this because if we get mad we are called a bitch or a nag and otherwise ridiculed for having gotten upset or mad. So we get mad quietly, withhold sex but eventually it will all blow up.
ReplyDeleteI've never understood why men do stupid shit and then get wounded, offended and critical when we get mad at the stupid shit they've done. Hardly seems fair!
The picture you put with this is priceless!
ReplyDeleteWhen I said "Go ahead and hang with the guys if you want." I actually meant it. However, when I wanted time to spend with my girlfriends I was often told "You had alone time when I was out with the guys on ____. Why didn't you go out then?"
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy my alone time. I enjoy my girl time. I enjoy my time with my guy when I'm in a relationship. Unfortunately, I've yet to find a guy who didn't believe I should be able to adjust the schedule of my world and that of my friends to suit his needs. I'm sure many men will say the same of their partners.
For every confusing bitch trait assigned to a woman you can assign a thoughtless oaf trait to a man. Isn't it amazing that we ever end up married?