Does your spouse annoy you in retirement?

[Silver]

I adore my husband of 8 years. (There have been previous marriages for both of us.) He is brilliant, and has an amazing memory for details about almost everything he has ever read or heard.

When we go out, he almost always drives. And he talks....and talks...about whatever comes into his mind. I have heard detailed descriptions of aircraft accidents that interest him, battlefield strategies of different wars, the reasons that the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald sank in 1975 with a verbatim recital of the lyrics of the song by Gordon Lightfoot. I have heard more about Greek mythology than I ever care to know. Chemical reactions..the whys, the hows, the whens. The history of mathematics and how much it is misunderstood and under appreciated is a favorite of his. And it goes on...forever. The only times I interrupt is when he has just driven past our turn or exit on the highway, which is often.

His talking is fine. His driving while talking is annoying.

[tmm99]

My DH does that sometimes (talking incessantly). When he does, some of the time, I say "Was I supposed to be listening? Cuz I wasn't." Most of the time he says he was thinking out loud, and he usually stops after that. Sometimes we start talking about what was on his mind.


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[sengsational]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRG Didn't you post in another thread about falling from a ladder and breaking both legs? Coincidence? I think not.

[34rlsa]

A spouse who is talking to you is usually a much better situation than a spouse who is not talking to you.

[Bamaman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silver When we go out, he almost always drives. And he talks....and talks...about whatever comes into his mind. I have heard detailed descriptions of aircraft accidents that interest him, battlefield strategies of different wars, the reasons that the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald sank in 1975 with a verbatim recital of the lyrics of the song by Gordon Lightfoot. I have heard more about Greek mythology than I ever care to know. Chemical reactions..the whys, the hows, the whens. The history of mathematics and how much it is misunderstood and under appreciated is a favorite of his. And it goes on...forever. The only times I interrupt is when he have just driven past our turn or exit on the highway, which is often.

The above has to be my favorite of all the postings. Silver, you're too much.


Ever notice how one spouse has to get the last word--all the time. That's another trait that drives me up the wall. Get in a little disagreement, and we'll spar back and forth--but she'll always be the one to say the last word.

[robnplunder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamaman Ever notice how one spouse has to get the last word--all the time. That's another trait that drives me up the wall. Get in a little disagreement, and we'll spar back and forth--but she'll always be the one to say the last word.

In the 7th year of our marriage, I decided to lose every argument. Happily married ever since.

[RetireAge50]

D

[Calico]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Major Tom Except with cats eh? I'm with you on that!

Cats are fine - the more the merrier! It's the members of the human species who would get on my nerves after too long in the same space. To be fair, I'm sure they would say the same of me.

[Calico]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan These days you can buy these specifically made for husbands. While they block out external noise the filter lets through key phrases such as, "Are you listening to me?"

Now all you need is a pair that responds "yes, dear" at programmed intervals, and you're good to go!

[34rlsa]

I must be the luckiest SOB here. My wife has always been my best friend, best supporter, best lover, best mother... and after more than 30 years of marriage we are closer than ever.

I can listen to her b*llshit all day and night.

[Amethyst]

Doing the same things as they did 30 years ago? No, I can't, and I've been married 30 years. New behaviors might be annoying.

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha Gee, who could imagine a difference between one's feelings toward a 25 year old and a 55 year old? Certainly not me. Ha

[skipro33]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC REW, spoken like a wise man with years in the trenches! I prefer to talk in a low voice from several rooms away, preferably with the dishwasher running, and get annoyed when DH doesn't hear me. It is a surefire way drive him crazy!

I KNEW IT!!

you wives do this on purpose! I'm so sick of saying 'what?' that I gave up. Instead, I parrot back exactly what I heard. You would be amazed at the difference between what I hear and what she said. Ha!

[scrinch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC I prefer to talk in a low voice from several rooms away, preferably with the dishwasher running, and get annoyed when DH doesn't hear me. It is a surefire way drive him crazy!

Did my DW teach you that??

[Sarah in SC]

That's the ladies' secret weapon, guys! My boss says his wife does the same thing!!

[Calico]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh I'm with you except for the cats!

[Ronnieboy]

For everyone who talks to themselves or have SO that talk to themselves, what do you or they say? I can't imagine talking out loud to myself when I am thinking it, why do I have to say it out loud?

Do they read out loud too?

Just curious....
If unloading the dishwasher do they say, "the pans go here, the plates here" I guess I don't get it.
Now if the SO other is talking to you and it just sounds like background noise that is another story

[Calico]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mystang52 Not an annoyance, but DW likes to talk to me from the kitchen when I'm in the den. I don't have good hearing anymore, so I can hear her speaking but cannot discern the words. One of the reasons I haven't gotten hearing aids yet

I have an 80-year-old uncle who is sharp as a tack, but his hearing is going. For some reason (??) he keeps "forgetting" to wear his hearing aids. On a completely unrelated note, he has been married to my talkative aunt for 50 years.

[cyber888]

Here's a solution. Buy some wax or ear plugs, stuff it in your ears, and you won't hear anything. As you see your wife's mouth move, smile occasionally .. and just go about your business ... reading, napping, eating, dancing, etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamaman I'm sitting here listening to my wife talk to herself in the kitchen. She talks constantly--seldom shutting her mouth. I used to talk some--until I retired--and now cannot get a word in edgewise. I just keep my mouth shut.

[Ally]

Sometimes my husband and I annoy each other, but it is so much less now that we are retired. We have a lot more fun around each other than we used to, when we were often stressed and tense. Not much seems worth getting annoyed over anymore.


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[JOHNNIE36]

My wife and I have been married 45 years and I can truly say that I have enjoyed every day of our marriage. Second for both of us and she says we were just made for each other. We have never had a real argument, tiff, fight or whatever. Lately she gets on me about not remembering things she has told me. Tells me not to get senile on her. I tell her she's losing it because she never told me what she told me. It goes on and on. But we smile about it anyway. Hope it stays that way. We'll both be very happy.