Generally speaking, there are just some things that men and women do differently in relationships! And the problems in many relationships occur when couples don’t learn how to accept each other’s differences which leads to arguments, frustration, and overall unhappiness in the relationship. If men and women would just put a little more effort into accepting each other’s differences, trying to understand each other and learning how to compromise, we would have so many more amazing loving relationships (and less breakups and divorce.)
Here are 9 ways my wife and I are extremely different. But instead of letting these differences frustrate us, we’ve learned to see humor in them and to compromise with each other…
1) We entertain differently…
If we are having people over I think since we are opening up our home then they can bring their own food and drink. My wife on the other hand will have a spread of food, drinks, hors d’oeuvres, desserts, and all the fancy little forks and plates and stuff as well. What I thought was chilling with friends becomes a page straight out of Southern Living: Guide to Entertaining Edition.
2) We miss the kids differently…
Maybe it’s just me or maybe it’s a dad thing but when my daughter is away with her grandparents I don’t feel the need to call multiple times to check on her. My wife on the other hand, has the numbers on speed dial and calls often. So…am I a bad parent because I don’t Facetime (video chat) her at least 3 times when she is away.
3) We prepare for company differently…
Hey look…I’m all for having a presentable house. But all the dusting, cleaning baseboards (I just found out what those were), and making sure all surfaces are fingerpint free…nah, I’m good on that! In fact, if you need all that done we are going have to call in some help or hire someone.
4) We vacation differently…
When I go on vacation I like to spend most of the time relaxing and having lots of down time. Why does my wife see vacation as the time to create an itinerary that starts at sunrise and ends at damn near midnight?! I don’t want every second of my vacation scheduled to the max…that’s what I’m vacationing FROM!
5) We watch TV differently…
If I’m watching TV, I’m doing just that…watching TV. Not watching TV, cleaning up,talking on the phone, and everything else at the same time. Men like to do one thing at a time so if the game is on then I’m watching the game. Stop getting mad at us because we don’t want to multitask while we are watching TV.
6) We listen differently…
If I’m in the middle of doing something, my hearing becomes very selective. Most men I know are the same way. Ladies, on the other hand, will carry on three conversations at once, while doing 3 things at once…all seemingly getting her full attention! See the way my ears and brain are set up, I will NEVER be that skilled…nor do I care to be.
Ladies, for your own sake, stop getting frustrated with men because you think we are ignoring you. The truth is that we really, really just don’t hear you. We have tuned you out not by choice, but by nature! If you’ve been talking to us for 3 minutes and we finally ask, “huh?” please don’t take it personal…blame our heads not our hearts!
7) We fix things differently…
When situations arise, men typically want to get an answer and a solution to the problem. Women, on the other hand, want to discuss what caused the problem, how the problem makes them feel, and then the litany of options to fix the problem. Men fix…. it’s what we do so don’t be angry when we don’t want to discuss how all of it made you feel. (Teachable moment…fellas sometimes don’t fix, just listen!)
8) We talk about things differently…
When men tell a story it’s usually in the STAR format: Situation, task, action, result. Ladies sometimes want to give you the details to everything. What she was wearing, what the weather was, what were the 100 steps leading up to the event, her range of emotions during the event, how she felt afterward. As a bonus you’ll also get to hear how her friends feel about what happened. GEESH!!!
9) We ‘sex’ differently…
Yeah, in general, as men once we see you and our equipment is stimulated we are ready to go! Ladies often times need a little more mental and emotional stimulation as well as foreplay before getting down to business. Hell, men can be mad at you all day but if you come out the bathroom naked it is still on and poppin’! When ladies are mad the first thing they say is “don’t touch me!” HA!
Many of our frustrations with each other as men and women are really just misunderstood differences. But it’s these differences that make us so great for one another. And when we learn how to compromise and learn how to leverage each other’s differences…that’s how we become unstoppable as a team! And that’s the secret to an amazing relationship.
BMWK Fam – Help us add to this list by commenting below. What are some other ways that men and women are just different?