Marriage News

A few months ago, I changed my “about me” section of this blog to a quote from “The Winter of Our Discontent” by John Steinbeck. A couple weeks ago, my wife noticed and gave me hell for it. So I present to you some news items I would comment on if I had an Option 1 blog. Since I don’t, they are here with no commentary.

MSNBC: Dull days wreck a marriage faster than fighting

Wall Street Journal: From patriarch to patsy

Daily Express: Why fathers feel left out

Now, I guess there are two reactions I can foresee: 1. “Oh, A Random Stranger’s marriage is on the rocks!” and 2. “A man’s complaints are not worth taking seriously.” And my reactions to these reactions are as follows:

1. You’re a dick. And probably from Utah, or someplace just as insulated and gossipy. And probably never married, so you think that, when you find the person you’re “supposed” to marry (hint: there is no such person), you will never again have a single problem. While I agree that a spouse is supposed to be your best friend, and I’ll admit that I think mine is (whether she reciprocates or has one of those third-grade best-friend-triangles going on, I don’t know), the fact remains that, aside from my children, nobody can bug the crap out of me as easily as she can. (And there’s really no need to check with her to see if the same is true about me; it’s a given.)
2. You’re a woman. As such, you think you can ignore anything a man says, because what does he know, anyway? We used to get free subscriptions to “Parents” and “Parenting” magazines, both of which are piles of crap, but “Parenting” much more so. Neither is about being a parent; both are about being a mother. The articles they had by men were written for women, and were along the lines of “here’s why you can trust your husband to take care of your kids.” On Parents.com you can find articles entitled “Why you should love your husband, faults and all,” and “Is your husband a lazy parent?” When you need a magazine to tell you that you should love your husband, you’ve watched so much “Lifetime” and read so much chick-lit that you’re beyond hope. Is it any wonder that men feel like they’re financially supporting a single-mom and her kids who sometimes, to say thanks, let him come over for dinner?