LESSON 7

I have been described as a typical hen-pecked husband, and even though I’m not exactly happy with this label, I have to admit I can be a bit of a wuss when it comes to disagreements with my dear wife.
The fact of the matter is I hate conflicts, and will go out of my way to avoid them. My wife, on the other hand, will seek them out. She enjoys a good scrap.
The problem always boils down to the same thing. She has to have the final word. She has to be right. Which means I have to be wrong, even if I am actually right.
To give an example of this, I’d been reading a book by Johann Hari, called “Lost Focus”, which is about how technology is destroying our ability to focus.
I’d just come home. I went into the living room and my wife was sitting on the sofa, watching the TV, with her laptop open on the coffee table and at the same time plugged into her mobile via ear plugs.
“Why are you plugged into three screens at the same time?” I asked, trying my best to sound light-hearted and certainly not in a tone of voice that might be interpreted as being up for a fight. “Is it because you’re a woman and so you think you can multi-task?” I added a little laugh, just to make it clear that I was not trying to provoke.
But she immediately got snappy. “No! Actually, David, it’s because I’m waiting for a phone call.”
“Then why don’t you switch off the TV and the computer , so you can concentrate on one thing at a time? According to the book I’m reading, there’s no such thing as multi-tasking. What your brain is doing right now is called ‘switching’ –“
“Stop lecturing me, David!” she snapped.
I felt slightly hurt. “I’m not lecturing. I’m just trying to explain about ‘switching’. I’m trying to help you, for God’s sake!”
“Well, just switch it off!” she shouted.
I shrugged, really hurt now. “Okay. Anything you say, dear. I’ll just shut up!”
See what I mean?