Marriage Mondays

September 11th, 2012 § 2 Comments

Shut up and Listen

You seen that Klondike Bar commercial? The one where a scruffy, slightly overweight guy turns away from the TV to actually listen to his wife. His face contorts under the strain of listening to his wife talking about painting their foyer yellow. Sweat beads on his forehead. There’s a 5 second clock ticking off. When it hits zeros, the dude jumps off the couch like he just hit a game winner, green confetti rains down and two cheerleaders jump into the living room dancing to that familiar tune, “What would you do..o..oo for a Klondike Bar.” I think it’s my favorite commercial. I’ve seen it countless times – still makes me laugh. My wife laughs too, but she shakes her head disapprovingly as she does. “You guys are jerks.”

Yes, the dude represents us well. And so I get it when my wife throws us all in a pile with Klondike Bar dude as our captain, and paints us all as jerks. Listening to know my wife does not come naturally to me. I want to know the point. Why are you telling me this? I’ve discovered there is not always a point. In fact, she sometimes doesn’t want me say anything at all. She doesn’t want me to offer an answer, give a suggestion. No. Just listen. I think my wife wants me to know her. And part of knowing her is experiencing something she experienced. Or letting her talk about something she’s been thinking.

I can tell sometimes she feels silly. She’ll say things like, “I don’t know why I’m telling you all this” or she’ll sheepishly say, “Can I just tell you what I saw at the thrift store?” She knows I’m not interested in the thrift store, and so when I’m attentive she knows I’m interested in her, in knowing her. And do it for more than 5 seconds, alright. You’ll get a lot more than a Klondike Bar. And no, I didn’t mean you get that. Geez, we are jerks. Hehe.

§ 2 Responses to Marriage Mondays

  • Dean says:

    Very funny but also very true. I’ve never seen the commercial, but you describe it so well I feel like I have.

    • Q says:

      You can see it online. It’s called “Five Seconds to Glory” Klondike Bar commercial. Listening is a very basic selfless act. The selfless part is what makes it unnatural.

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