Husbands Who Resist Change

Summary

The author humorously describes a method for encouraging her husband to accept new ideas by attributing suggestions to other people rather than herself.

Abstract

The article titled "Husbands Who Resist Change" recounts the author's strategy for dealing with her husband's resistance to her direct suggestions. She has found that if she presents an idea as if it came from someone else, her husband is more receptive to it. This approach avoids potential arguments and bad feelings. The author illustrates her point with an anecdote about her husband's reluctance to follow her advice on bookkeeping and how she overcame this by referencing a third party, Pam, who had taken over her job. The story extends to her discovery of waffle weave towels through an advertisement, which she found more engaging than the news. She researched the towels on Amazon and, after reading a review about a man who was resistant to change but grew to like the towels, decided they would be a good purchase for her household. The author concludes by expressing satisfaction with this method of introducing change, which aligns with her philosophy of not arguing with what works.

Opinions

The author finds humor in her husband's predictable resistance to her suggestions, likening his reaction to that of a horse shaking its head.
She values the effectiveness of her method, as it has been successful over time, even after the original referenced individuals like Janice have retired.
The author believes that external authority, or at least the perception of it, carries more weight with her husband than her own suggestions.
She is practical and results-oriented, choosing to adopt strategies that have proven to work rather than engaging in conflict.
The author appreciates the quality and functionality of waffle weave towels, particularly their absorbency and quick-drying nature, and is willing to try new products that offer improvements.
She trusts customer reviews as a reliable source of information when considering new purchases, such as the waffle weave bath towels.

I Had to Laugh

I learned a trick a long time ago. If there is something I would like my husband to do, I suggest that somebody else said it first. That’s all it takes. It smooths out bad and sad feelings. It’s just how he is.

If I say to him, which is happening right now, “As your bookkeeper, you should….” He shakes his head like a horse. I kid you not. Like a horse and doesn’t even let me finish my sentence. The next time I said it, I said, “As your accountant, you should…” Again, the same treatment.

I just realized the next time I say it, I will say, “Pam says blah, blah, blah.” See, Pam took over my job when I retired. She’s having about as much fun as I did, which isn’t saying much. I used to say it before I got the position. I would say, “Janice says…” Eventually, Janice retired, but I kept saying it for years. Who has more authority than somebody other than your wife?

It worked.

Why argue with success?

What reminded me of this was I happened to see an advertisement for waffle weave towels while I was reading the news. Actually, the ad was more exciting than the news, so I clicked the button. I knew about waffle weave towels. One of our kitchen towels is a waffle weave. It’s almost threadbare; it is so old, but it is one of my favorites. I can attest that it gets things dry and, once wet, will quickly dry itself better than our other kitchen towels.

I didn’t realize you could get them as bath towels, so rather than continue with the advertisement, which was getting to be long-winded, I went to Amazon. At $36, a set of two bath, face, and hand towels is not a bad price. They come in a variety of colors. Although they are not the fancy ones from Imabari, Japan, they will do the trick.

I read one of the reviews, and a lady said even her husband, who is resistant to change, got used to them and now likes their towels.

Hey, that works for me.

Thanks for reading.