Earlier this week I came home from work, and Gary went into his daily Rant About Trump.
I said, “He won’t win. The news networks need ratings, so they tell you he has a chance so you’ll watch. Stop watching the news.”
He continued watching the news and shouting at the TV. I argued that he’d had all day to watch the news, and I had limited time to distract myself. After wasting an hour I realized there are two TVs in this house.
Just as I got up to change rooms, my brother called. He spent thirty minutes on the phone trying to send me something he saw in Facebook. The entire time I insisted that I was not at all interested in what he was sending me. Eventually after he Facetimed me I got to see this “wonderful” thing. A photo. A friend’s wife was in the background with a humorous expression. I flipped him off through the power of Facetime and hung up.
In both instances I was annoyed that I have limited time, yet these men with infinite free time wasted my time. But of course, I was the one who wasted my time. I should have ended both conversations quickly.
Walk away. Turn your back. As always, the answer I give myself and everyone else is “Distance.” Care less. But the price to be paid for that is less intimacy. Less support, less love, all the complaints I have today.
Then again, though I was ignored at the time, both Dave and Gary have become a little more appreciative of my time. Yesterday Dave only called three times for five minutes instead of once for thirty minutes. Gary asked if I wanted to leave the house (cabin fever contributed to my irritability earlier this year) and more important, turned off the news last night.
However, yesterday he did say, “Ugh, look at that balding woman on TV.”
I said, “Hey, I’M balding.”
He said, “Yes, but she’s not old.”
So he’s still annoying.
5 responses to “Annoyances”
I literally laughed out loud at the “but she’s not old”. Men are lucky we allow them to live.
Yes. Those tiny male infants do catch a break, don’t they.
Queen: I am reading Sarah Kendzior’s book, The View From Flyover Country. Every page I read makes me condemn myself for my smug, shortsighted view of the Heartland.
~~Silk – I would be happier if he thought more and spoke less, but he could say the same about me.
Hattie – I saw you were reading that. I remember there was a CNN crowd interview in Chicago that ended with “Live, from the Heartland.” To think Chicago would be lumped in with the rest of us.
Yes. I know what you mean.