I find it hard to believe that I’m a grown man and I still pout. When my wife and I don’t get along and our communication is in the toilet, I am a sulking guy pouting, and take all my toys and go hide in my cave. Okay, maybe not all my toys, but you get the picture.
After all my time in therapy, all my time in my men’s group, all the ups and downs of marriage, divorce, dating again, and getting married again, I still act like a little boy when my feelings are hurt.
I hate when I do that. It doesn’t matter whether I’m right or wrong: I lose! Granted, I’m usually right, but it’s the same as being in the crosswalk when a car comes barreling through and runs you down. You still lose. And, with my wife, or any woman for that matter, you can’t run away. She/they are just built tougher and better able to withstand periods of silence and our pouting.
Eventually, I give in and start talking again and maybe we fight a little and, usually, we make up. It often turns out to be a complete misunderstanding or misinterpretation of things said, so we both have lost during the time I was hiding out and she was being quiet as she’s “processing” whatever it is that has occurred.
I can’t help but think of Rex Harrison, in “My Fair Lady,” singing “Why Can’t A Woman Be More Like A Man?” but what do I know, I’m just a guy.
