You have to smile, don't you?

During car journeys, I'm a "captive audience" for my wife, she says it's the only time she sees me. So this week as usual, on our regular Tuesday journey to lunch at a local garden centre, I was getting an earful of all the problems and injustices in the world, some quite trivial she'd read about in that morning's paper, many of which I'd avoided reading (interspersed with the usual information supplied by her as an unpaid tour guide, usually prefaced by "Ooo! Look!")

I've reached an age where I can't worry too much about things that either don't affect me, or about which I can do nothing. My view is that in what years we have left, we should be enjoying ourselves and not worrying. I really don't need to hear about Cheryl Cole and her problems either.

I listened for a bit and then said; "Can you not go on about all this and let me concentrate on my driving? We're s'posed to be going out for an enjoyable lunch and I'd rather not get there totally depressed."
Just at that moment, we'd pulled up at a set of lights opposite a pub she'd noticed. I'd hardly got the words out of my mouth when she said "Ooo look! There's a BBQ there on Sunday, with a bouncy castle and face-painting....Perhaps they could paint a smile on your face!"


On our way back from lunch today, the subject got round to the sad death of the actor Simon McCorkindale and for a while she banged on about his role in the BBC hospital drama "Casualty."
I then casually mentioned that people like me, who don't watch soaps will probably best remember him as a young man in his role in the film; "The Riddle of the Sands" which I said must be on TV at least three times every year.
She then came in and started to describe it a totally different film.

"No, it's not that one love, it's about a German plot to invade England using barges in World War 1."
Then keeping her face away from me so that I couldn't detect any trace of a smile, she replied in her best patronising and condescending voice;

"You're wrong......Have you.... seen the film?"

It was a good job my hands were on the wheel!

We had to call into the garden centre again for some compost on the way home, she was particularly relieved to see that in their Christmas display, the little animated polar bear of which she got me to take this photograph last Tuesday, had been moved back so his nose was no longer stuck in the fence.


Ah!

 

she said "Ooo look! There's a BBQ there on Sunday, with a bouncy castle and face-painting....Perhaps they could paint a smile on your face!"

:rotfl::rotfl:

 

Have you turned into a Grumpy Old Man then DR?

I'm trying not to turn into one, preferring to see the best in things and life...but every now and again, the grumpy old man lurking pops out and feels inclined to comment (aka rant)...

 

No, I'm not really grumpy. But I have my moments.
Because of my wife's heavy pain relief drugs she takes for her MS and other problems, "having a go" at me is a bit of an outlet for her for her frustration about the limiting affects on her life. She knows I know she doesn't mean it and we always turn the situations into humour. We're quick to "move on."

As an example, this situation occured thirty-odd years ago when she was fit and well, we were having a "play wrestle" in the lounge and I managed to get her on the floor face-down.

Her reaction was;

"Get off me!"

"It's really hurting!"

"Get off!"

"Get off!....Ooo! look how the carpet's coming away from the wall in this corner!"

 

Lovely Pic of the Polar Bear, Doghouse.
And good observation of the differences between men and women.

If you can find a way to see it - it's on video but sadly not on DVD as far as I can find - Elaine C Smith (i think the video is just called Elaine) does a hilarious "healing comedy" on those differences. I guarantee your wife would love it. You might manage a smile too :D

 

Yes, men "never win" in such situations. Women are always one step ahead of us, set the traps and we fall in!

 

We are so different, I think sometimes we are different species!!!! This would make a good thread listing some of the differences!!! :yez:

Val

 

My problem is that I fall for it every time. When in the car she started to describe the film, I wasn't aware that she was deliberately describing a different one just to get me going. That was the reason she was hiding her face as she can't help smiling in that situation.

She called me in last night to look at a TV commercial.

"Look! you're on the telly!"

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBLyh0lZ8po"]YouTube - Specsavers Mr.Men (Mr.Happy)[/nomedia]





Tonight I'm watching the football and dinner was quite late coming, as I could here her on the phone in the other room for ages. When the call finally ended, the conversation went like this:

"Who was that on phone?"

"Your sister."

Now my attempt to wind her up.

"Couldn't you have told her that it wasn't convenient to speak as you were in the middle of cooking my dinner and I get annoyed if I'm kept waiting?"

"I could, but then there'd have been no point, as I phoned her!"

As you say, men can't win!