10 Things Wives Will Never Understand About Their Husbands
The author of the brilliant and big-hearted novel about marriage, Love Is a Canoe, tells us what our better halves are really thinking.
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The Truth About That Look
Take any random afternoon. We are glaring. We are frowning. We have been silent for two hours. It does not mean we have stopped loving you. We're just driving the car or wondering why someone we report to hates us or missing Led Zeppelin and wondering if My Morning Jacket is the new Zeppelin and perhaps we're too old for that music but should we embrace it anyway if we had more time, if we were more comfortable with the Cloud and digital music... We are really getting worked up. But it's not about you. We love you. And we are not going to tell you why we were so unhappy-looking just now because we are embarrassed about it, and now that you've asked twice, the truth is we can't remember, and we are not going to admit that, either.
Our Secret Turn-On
Pilly cotton underwear. Both intimate and sexy.
Our Secret View on Change
Just because we don't try new things (teal sweaters, two-week cruises with our in-laws, soy milk) doesn't mean we're against trying new things. We might say we want spaghetti with meatballs the size of grapefruits, but if you say "Why don't we make a kale salad instead?" we are going to eat it and like it just as much. We are grown-up now, and we know what's good for us even if it's not the first thing we pull out of the fridge.
Why We Think Being Silent Helps
Because if we're not talking, we can't say something critical or annoying. We will never understand that being silent can seem critical or annoying. Because we are not talking!
What We Most Want You to Know
We know there are things you do that we take for granted and don't celebrate enough (like waking up with our baby and feeding him breakfast far, far more than we'd like to admit), and we also know we think it's a big deal when we tell you you're beautiful, when that's something we can never tell you enough times. We know that taking the big chores you do for granted while always remembering to tell you we love you and think you're astonishing will never balance out, but every single time, we are going to hope, foolishly, that somehow, it will.
Ben Schrank is the author of Love Is a Canoe. You can reach him at BenSchrank.com.
More Insight Into the Male Mind
Take any random afternoon. We are glaring. We are frowning. We have been silent for two hours. It does not mean we have stopped loving you. We're just driving the car or wondering why someone we report to hates us or missing Led Zeppelin and wondering if My Morning Jacket is the new Zeppelin and perhaps we're too old for that music but should we embrace it anyway if we had more time, if we were more comfortable with the Cloud and digital music... We are really getting worked up. But it's not about you. We love you. And we are not going to tell you why we were so unhappy-looking just now because we are embarrassed about it, and now that you've asked twice, the truth is we can't remember, and we are not going to admit that, either.
Our Secret Turn-On
Pilly cotton underwear. Both intimate and sexy.
Our Secret View on Change
Just because we don't try new things (teal sweaters, two-week cruises with our in-laws, soy milk) doesn't mean we're against trying new things. We might say we want spaghetti with meatballs the size of grapefruits, but if you say "Why don't we make a kale salad instead?" we are going to eat it and like it just as much. We are grown-up now, and we know what's good for us even if it's not the first thing we pull out of the fridge.
Why We Think Being Silent Helps
Because if we're not talking, we can't say something critical or annoying. We will never understand that being silent can seem critical or annoying. Because we are not talking!
What We Most Want You to Know
We know there are things you do that we take for granted and don't celebrate enough (like waking up with our baby and feeding him breakfast far, far more than we'd like to admit), and we also know we think it's a big deal when we tell you you're beautiful, when that's something we can never tell you enough times. We know that taking the big chores you do for granted while always remembering to tell you we love you and think you're astonishing will never balance out, but every single time, we are going to hope, foolishly, that somehow, it will.
Ben Schrank is the author of Love Is a Canoe. You can reach him at BenSchrank.com.
More Insight Into the Male Mind
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