We’ve been married 45 years. You would think we’d
know each other better than those couples who used to be on the Newlywed show.
Well, guess again.
My husband and I recently attended a church marriage
seminar for seniors to strengthen our communication skills. Lovely idea! And so
needed. He declares I mumble. I vow he can’t even hear himself. He says I never
told him. I steam he doesn’t listen. The seminar was a great idea until . . .
The
moderator began asking questions.
It
was all fun and games in the beginning. We listened to other couples answer
their questions with ease and comfort. We all laughed, ribbing our church
friends that they must have rehearsed their answers. None of the questions were
hard. None of them were intimate or personal. Most were common, everyday
questions everyone knew how to answer. You know the break-the-ice kind of
questions.
We
were in the middle of a hardy, raucous time with our friends when the
instructor threw a question our way, “Sir, can you name your wife’s favorite
flower?”
You
should have seen my husband. Proud plastered itself all over his face. A smile
spread from earlobe to earlobe. I must have smirked, feeling girlish, knowing
he had the right answer.
He
touched my hand. Tears welled. With firm conviction, he loudly declared, “It’s
Pillsbury!”
The
room grew quiet. The speaker looked puzzled. Everyone turned our way.
After
what seemed like an eternity, I gasped, shoved his hand away, and said without
one stitch of hesitation, “Fool! I use King Arthur!”
Laughter
erupted. Our faces grew brilliant red. My friend who was sitting next to me
cupped her hands around her mouth, leaned in toward me and yelled, “He said
flower!”
My
husband and I looked at one another and shrugged our shoulders.
She
yelled louder, “He said flower!”
By
now, we were getting riled up. How dare she contradict what we had answered.
Was something wrong with the woman’s hearing?
When
she screamed it out a third time, we both stood up in unison, and walked out
the door, huffed up and angry. Once we’d cleared the church doors, my husband
flailed his arms, angry as a bantam rooster. “Well, you can tell who needed
that seminar. And it sure wasn’t us!”
Trekking
behind him, I agreed wholeheartedly, “Bunch of fools! You can tell they can’t
hear a blessed thing! Did you see how that woman acted?”
My
beloved whirled on me, shouting, “Acted? You thought I was acting? I lovingly
gave you the correct answer. Are you trying to start a battle with me?”
Clearly
we needed to head back into the seminar, but by the time I recovered from his
attack, he was halfway down the block, struggling to open someone else’s car
door. Guess it’s not the right time to remind him that we drove to church with
the lady who insulted us.
Rather
than tackle the problem further, I sat down on the church steps. Looking up, I
noticed the seminar banner strung between two Dogwoods.
Marriage
Seminar for Seniors
Improve your communication.
Learn new ways to problem solve.
Grow closer.
Gain new insight into your relationship.
As I finished reading the last
sentence, I felt an arm go around my shoulders.
“You okay?” my husband asked.
I sniffed. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“I can’t get in the car,” he
remarked. “Guess we need to call a cab?”
Looking over at the love of my life,
I nodded.
Helping each other up, our hands
slipped comfortably into one another’s as we walked away.
“What’s for supper?” my husband
asked.
“Eggs and toast.”
“That’s exactly what I wanted.”
Communication skills?
Is it possible that part of communication is just
being comfortable with one another without talking? Or being kinder as our
hearing diminishes?
Do you need to think about your communication
skills?
God Bless You!
Angela,
ReplyDeleteYour story is both creative and insightful, and I enjoyed the read. I especially like the light-hearted manner in which you share your down-to-earth personal experiences with your readers. Thanks for the delightful tale! BTW, your highlighted Quote is awesome!
Blessings and Happiness,
RosaLinda
In the middle of blogging and writing, we got a call that our daughter was in labor. We have a new grandson. So thrilled. I'm just now getting around to checking email. Thank you for your comment!
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