WifeAdvice.com

Stay tuned…

I wish I were around for the advent of the television. It must have been crazy to see a box with people in it for the first time. It also must have impacted the institution of marriage in dramatic ways. For instance, husbands were no longer subjected to endless dialogue and could now have a little downtime while wives across the world spent time with the tv. Well, I thought I could take advantage of the television to get some of my own personal time.

Lesson 34: Don’t turn on the television to distract your wife like she is a baby enthralled by a colorful rattle.

One evening I was feverishly working on the laptop to finish a project due the next day. My wife spent the evening trying to engage me in discussion by telling me stories, asking me questions, and even inviting me to watch a movie with her. I should have stopped her right away to explain the deadline I was under but instead pretended to listen to her and occasionally responded with an, “Oh really?” and “Hmm.”

Realizing she wasn’t getting the hint and that I didn’t have time to explain my situation, I thought of an alternative. I remembered that The Mentalist was recording on Tivo. This is one of my wife’s favorite shows. While she was telling me yet another story, I broke away from work and engaged her eyes. I nodded affirmatively as she spoke while slowly reaching for the remote. Unbeknownst to her, I turned the television on and started The Mentalist. Startled, she looked at the television and then looked back at me. I started working again and said surprised, “Oh, your favorite show. Good idea. Why don’t you watch that for a while.”

I realized my acting skills were not convincing as my wife grabbed the remote and turned the show off. “Did you just turn the television on to distract me so you could go back to what you were doing?” she asked very annoyed.

“Well, yes. I have a lot to do,” I said. She responded, “You should have just told me.”

She abruptly walked off and I continued to work.

My suggestion: Even though I was able to continue working, I propose an alternative approach. Just let your wife know up-front when you are busy and can’t talk. Explain the situation to her. More often than not she will understand.

Wives aren’t that easy to distract with the television anymore. Perhaps this technique worked for my grandfather, but these days televisions are part of our lives – especially our wives’ lives.