NEED TO KNOW
How things work . . . I love to know what makes things work.
I once spent hours poring over the troubleshooting guide for our dishwasher and successfully replaced the drain pump! I then repaired the kitchen side-by-side freezer and our washing machine. I didn’t set out to be an appliance repair person. I really love learning how appliances work—or why they aren’t working—and how to fix them.
The appliances were part of a “money-saving” kitchen package with warranties that lasted for one year. All but one died in 13 months.
I think that was my initial motivation. I was sick of things breaking. And then, before I knew it, I was having so much fun that I couldn’t stop. I’m now waiting for the range or oven to break, the only piece in the set that has continued to more than 12 months.
High on the smell of repair grease, I happily related the process, step by step, to my husband. To which he replied, “I don’t need to know.”
WHAAAT? I couldn’t understand it; I had a burning NEED to know. Why didn’t he need to know? Wasn’t he curious about the fantastic “how-to” website I found with detailed video instructions? Didn’t he want to know where to get authentic appliance parts?
“NO,” he said. The reality was, he didn’t WANT to know.
He didn’t want to know, and that bugged me for a while. Then I realized there are things he talks about that I don’t want to know. I try to be an active listener when he recounts EVERY hole of his latest golf game. Both his shots and those of the guys he is playing with. And the reality? I don’t want to know. I can hear you say, “It’s important to be interested in your spouse’s activities.” Yah, yah . . . I know. And I am. This is just an honest moment here—between you and me. Sometimes, I just don’t want to know.
Now I’m feeling guilty, and we could go into the psychology of that. But I bet YOU don’t want to know!
When was it that we began to analyze everything? And I mean everything! Think of any conversation where you couldn’t say, “What did you mean by that?”
Could you think of any? I can’t. Talk about exhausting! They say women are worse at this than men, but I think both sexes are guilty. I’ve concluded that analyzing almost always leads to hurt feelings.
So, we add emojis. I hate emojis. But because I hate having to explain what I mean in a simple text or e-mail even more, I use emojis. Usually, it’s just the smiley face or the sad face. Happy or sad, that’s enough, right? And maybe the thumbs-up on occasion! Group texting, in general, stresses me out. To me, it’s like a puzzle to figure out who is talking. Then someone in the group “likes” what was said, and the whole text is printed again. Who said that? And what did they mean by that? Why did she like it? I thought it was bad news!!
And there is a whole language of emojis. One of my friends once tried to explain it to me. Talk about an awkward conversation. So many of them have to do with sex or kinds of sex! Is this REALLY what people are texting about? I don’t want to know.
Or in this situation, I think it’s more accurate to say . . . I don’t need to know.