H.L. asks from Oradell, NJ on March 07, 2011
What Do You and Your Husband Talk About?
My husband and I are having a disagreement related to an older post about him being a workaholic. I feel that work consumes 3/4 to 7/8th of his brain all the time and it's pretty much all he wants to talk about bc it's all he thinks about. He doesn't completely disagree but says it's part of marriage and all I want to talk about are the kids. He has a point though I extend talking about the kids to include what other families and friends are up to or things that happened to them (ie: this weekend was our friend's vacation review, another neighbor was in a car accident), some complaining about the competive or unfriendly mothers I meet, a bit about my work and stuff going on there, talk about my extended family, our house and what needs to be done to it etc. I admit not much of my conversation is about world events since we had kids. My job requires a certain amount of knowledge of events but for the most part, I don't feel like my brain has a lot of capacity anymore to know the ins and outs of foreign affairs. If I have time to relax, I want something more entertainment based. Hopefully someday I can get back into that stuff. But since the kids are ours, I feel that should be an interesting topic to him as well as me. And sad part is he's gone so much we don't have that much time to talk in general. So my question is - what do you and your husbands talk about most of the time? Are you covering really interesting things like happenings in the Middle East or are your conversations a bit more ego-centric? Does your husband talk about work 90% of the time?
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D.N. answers from Rochester on March 08, 2011
When my husband is working that is all he talks about.It gets worst as he gets older.My kids are all grown and after 30 years of marriage with him,I just let him ramble on.It is a ego thing with him.I talk to other friends and family to keep my sanity!
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T.M. answers from Philadelphia on March 07, 2011
When we really sit and talk, like around the firepit or on the back porch, it is interesting conversation. We talk about each others childhood, grandparents, friends, death...all kinds of things. We ask each other fantasy questions. When you mix a glass or two of wine in there, the conversation is especially interesting ;)
On other nights it is mostly what we did that day (work or otherwise), something big on the news, the kids, etc. We are not really big into political conversation.
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M.B. answers from Washington DC on March 07, 2011
I talk about literally everything that Molly B. talks with her husband about as well as humorous stuff. We find a lot of things funny, and my husband is a fantastic comedian:)
(Oh, except we aren't going to have a baby, so we don't talk about that:))
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M.B. answers from St. Louis on March 07, 2011
Oh my! Me and hubs arent going to sound too smart. We talk about sex, dinner, the weekend, the kids, bills, our friends, how he should rub my back, his work, how I do more than him ;), our new coming baby, our future, we do talk about gas prices!! lol
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B.. answers from Dallas on March 07, 2011
Everything!! The world, religion, politics, art, entertainment, our family, our son, his work, funny things we read, our project ideas, our future plans, our dreams, everything!! One of the reasons we started dating (and of course got married) is because we never got bored with our conversation. I really love talking to him and we are never short on interesting topics. We are both very curious about the world and different viewpoints. We do only have 1 son and don't plan on having anymore. I think if we had more children, it might be different.
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P.W. answers from San Francisco on March 07, 2011
I think your situation is probably pretty typical. And men don't usually want to discuss kid things the way we women do.
It's reasonable that your different lives lead you to have differing interests and topics of conversation. That's why I think it's really important for hubbies and wives to have at least one hobby or interest that they share.
I'm still trying to find one for me and my husband, especially since the kids are going to be gone in a couple of years.
Molly's answer is funny.
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M.T. answers from New York on March 09, 2011
Neither of us talks about our job 90% of the time, but we do tell stories about work. He tells personal things about the coworkers that I know. We talk about any volunteer work we're each doing, events in our community, we talk about current events and the arts, books and tv shows, things that need doing around the house. We also talk a lot about the kids, my husband keeping me up to date on scout activities, me keeping him up to date on the sweet 16 planning and the college visits and school events coming up for the kids. Your husband should want to talk about the kids. They aren't an amusing hobby that you have, they are his children. It sounds like he is a disinterested observer - if he works that much, he isn't seeing much of the kids or doing much of the parenting, so he should be MORE interested in what's going on with them since he is not there to see it. I don't think your problem is that you aren't reading Newsweek, the problem is that your husband is disinterested in his family and being a husband and father.
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D.R. answers from San Luis Obispo on March 07, 2011
Hey good question. I know that over 50% consumes both my current husband and my ex... even after we divorced he would call me up and end up talking about his work. My poor daughter would complain... all dad does is talk to me about his work and she was a little girl back then! Guys are cluless when it comes to knowing just how much they talk about work. They want our undivided attention but seem really impatient when we talk about our work....
I mean lately my husband and I have been discussing a trip we are planning but it is surrounding when he gets off of WORK! I guess as wives we should just be glad that they have jobs!
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L.S. answers from Los Angeles on March 07, 2011
My husband talks about work a lot because he's in sales and goes to people's homes daily. LOTS to talk about there! We're also really political creatures and keep up w/ world events. He listens to talk radio and news radio while he drives and I read various papers, so we're always talking about what we've learned during the day. And of course, we talk about our daughter! And latest news of family/friends. I'd love to talk about what I'd like to "do" to the house more, but that conversation doesn't seem to go very far, hahaha!
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E.C. answers from New York on March 08, 2011
It helps me to think about the child rearing years as a stage in life. Our dating days and years before children was similarly a stage. Neither is going to go on forever and it will be different once the children are out of the house. Yes, work is his mindset. No, most husbands are not as interested in our children's minutest details - and much less our neighbors' goings on. We are relational beings as women, for the most part. That is why we have mother, sister and girl friends who are all interested in those things.
I also remember back to when we were dating, how I chose to be interested in the NY Giants or the Reformation - it was interesting because he was interested in it.
So, I find that I need to make sure I have enough girl talk time with my girl friends. My husband is a great guy - but even he cannot absorb all my emotional energy and needs. Our marriage is a lot happier when I am not looking to him for all or even most of my relational talking needs. My mother, thankfully, cannot get enough of the 'you won't believe what Emma said today' stories.
I feel a lot more connected to my husband when he and I have had time together without the kids - not spending a lot of money on a big date - but making sure they are in bed so we can have an hour without electronic media, just to sit and have a glass of wine together, sitting on the couch. A book which was really helpful for me was G. Chapman's "The Five Love Languages". It helps one identify how I, my spouse and my children feel loved (touch, time, words of encouragement, gifts, and one more). It so helped me - because I gave the kind of love I wanted - and so did my husband!
Keep up the good work.
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D.N. answers from Rochester on March 08, 2011
When my husband is working that is all he talks about.It gets worst as he gets older.My kids are all grown and after 30 years of marriage with him,I just let him ramble on.It is a ego thing with him.I talk to other friends and family to keep my sanity!
1 mom found this helpful
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