F. Scott Fitzgerald observed, “The rich are different from you and me.” That truism is echoed by the lament, “Wives are different from husbands”. Both the lives of the wealthy and the workings of the female mind are inscrutable to the average husband, a group I confess membership in. With Peg and me, the mysteries of what she really wants would stump Agatha Christie. Early in our marriage I took it for granted that when Peg said, “Oh, that’s okay”, she really meant it was okay if some vague suggestion she made went by without a response from me, say something such as, “I’d like to have that (something) done”. But now, after many years of me not doing what she indicated she did not need me to do causing a chilly atmosphere, I can sometimes decipher when action is called for.
Household chores are the main catalyst for miscalculations on my part. I just do not feel the urgency Peg does to immediately pick up, move, dust, put away, file, shelve, dig, catalogue, clean, repair, mow, shovel, etc.
And when I point out the Biblical wisdom of Matthew 6:34, you know, “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof”, Peg accuses me of only misciting scripture to dodge work. My response to that is, “That’s a time-honored tradition”. I submit:
“Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, For tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.”
Now, I ask you my fair and Gentle Reader, is that not sufficient for any wife/husband domestic colloquy?
You may wonder, or you may not care, what has any of this lament to do with our just past Fourth of July holiday? Well, I’ll tell you. Peg and I just hosted the traditional Redwine 4th of July Family Reunion that I believed was to celebrate our country’s birthday, but Peg saw as a call for our home to be prepared for military inspection. I was perfectly happy with icing down some beer and getting my clothes off door knobs. Ah, mon ami, not so fast.
Peg dedicated the entire month of June to house cleaning and “suggesting” that I accompany her to Walmart and Dollar General to shop for reunion “essentials”. And, of course, imbedded in her mission statement were a myriad of chores that I was supposed to somehow divine from her occasional, “Jim, such and such needs doing”. And, if I might not immediately pick up on her “gentle” suggestion, Biblical verses were no shield.
Anyway, we and our patriotic family had a wonderful time reflecting upon how lucky we all are to have had Founders who had the wisdom and courage to establish these United States. And Peg appears to have recovered from my obtuse inability to grasp her intentions. Of course, she has had numerous experiences that have aided that understanding.
Leave a Reply