Uh, "Yes Dear, No Dear, Whatever You Say, Dear."

VegasGeorge

VegasGeorge

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Does this happen to you? Every time I sit down to play a tune, my wife comes into the room and starts asking me questions. Or else she calls out to me from the other room. I know she doesn't object to my playing or singing. She often asks me to play and sing. I think when she hears me, it triggers something in her mind to the effect of, "He isn't doing anything important, so now's my opportunity to get his attention." It's very frustrating. I don't know how many times I've started the same tune over, and over again, just to be interrupted each time. Argh! :wallbash:
 
Nope, it doesn't happen to me. My wife works from home, but she has an office, and she is very focused on her work. She usually starts working at 9 or 10 in the morning, unless she has a yoga class, then she starts when she gets home from that. I pretty much entertain myself and try not to bother her while she is working. We usually have lunch together at 1 in the afternoon. She winds down around 4 in the afternoon, but even then, she doesn't have much to say. She also works one or two evenings a week for a couple of hours. I have that time to myself as well, but I usually watch TV in the evenings.
 
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Last year we were visiting relatives out of town. I was playing uke on the front porch. I was asked to come into the kitchen and play while they were prepping dinner.

I no sooner started to play than the blender and other noises started happening.

Some people don't understand the concentration it takes to be able to play and chew gum at the same time.
 
VegasGeorge said:
Does this happen to you? Every time I sit down to play a tune, my wife comes into the room and starts asking me questions. Or else she calls out to me from the other room. I know she doesn't object to my playing or singing. She often asks me to play and sing. I think when she hears me, it triggers something in her mind to the effect of, "He isn't doing anything important, so now's my opportunity to get his attention." It's very frustrating. I don't know how many times I've started the same tune over, and over again, just to be interrupted each time. Argh! :wallbash:
Click to expand...

I know this situation very well. I have a close friend who used to complain that when ever he started practicing his hobby (not the ukulele something else) his wife would say "Since you are not doing anything could you..." and follow that with, something like "mow the lawn, take out the garbage" or anything else from a laundry list of honey-dos.

I was actually able to solve the problem, and fortunately his wife had a good sense of humor about it. I bought him a hat and had the words "I AM doing something" embroidered on in it. Now depending on the wife's personality this could either solve the problem or cause a bigger one. But he tells me he never really had to put on the hat, he just had to show it to her once.

(true story)

Edit: now that I think back about it maybe he isn't allowed to complain to friends about her anymore ???
 
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VegasGeorge said:
Does this happen to you? Every time I sit down to play a tune, my wife comes into the room and starts asking me questions. Or else she calls out to me from the other room. I know she doesn't object to my playing or singing. She often asks me to play and sing. I think when she hears me, it triggers something in her mind to the effect of, "He isn't doing anything important, so now's my opportunity to get his attention." It's very frustrating. I don't know how many times I've started the same tune over, and over again, just to be interrupted each time. Argh! :wallbash:
Click to expand...

To the best of my knowledge, I've never met your wife, so no, this never happens to me.


(g)


-Kurt​
 
Brian1 said:
I know this situation very well. I have a close friend who used to complain that when ever he started practicing (not the ukulele something else) his wife would say "Since you are not doing anything could you..." and follow that with, something like "mow the lawn, take out the garbage" or anything else from a laundry list of honey-dos.
Click to expand...
My wife doesn't have a list of honey-dos. I'm smart enough to know what needs to be done without her telling me. I'm pretty good at figuring out if the lawn needs mowing or the garbage needs taken out all by myself.
 
No, no wife so no interruptions, other than the TV and the computer and the phone, and text messages, and...
 
Do you have a headphone jack on your ukulele? Otherwise it might be time to introduce the wife to lawn bowls.
 
I do know that the success of any marriage depends on how well you can say "yes dear" without sounding sarcastic.
 
No, it never happens with my spouse, who is usually off reading a book or doing woodworking projects when I am playing. But when I travel, I often bring my ukulele and will go off into a corner of the airport/hotel/ship, etc. and play it. I would say at least 10% of the time people come up and ask questions, from "is that a ukulele," to "can you play me 'Tiny Bubbles,'" etc. Now I just stop playing when they approach -- just as well, I'm too shy to play for an audience anyway, hence the corner. But it is frustrating as heck, because, nope, I actually cannot play and carry on a conversation at the same time.
 
Rllink said:
My wife doesn't have a list of honey-dos. I'm smart enough to know what needs to be done without her telling me. I'm pretty good at figuring out if the lawn needs mowing or the garbage needs taken out all by myself.
Click to expand...

Yeah, about the same for me. My wife is probably glad to get away by herself without my almost constant whistling/singing or talking. I'm a noisy person, I guess, with a motormouth. Ahhh, well . . . :eek:ld:
 
Nope. The wife knows the difference when I'm just noodling and when I'm seriously trying to practice something.
 
My kitty comes running to sit on my lap. I think she likes thinking shes being serenaded the little queen that she is. She will get comfy and turn to face me and the instrument. Shes a talker as well and adds a meow in here and there frequently.

widdles.jpg
 
Down Up Dick said:
Yeah, about the same for me. My wife is probably glad to get away by herself without my almost constant whistling/singing or talking. I'm a noisy person, I guess, with a motormouth. Ahhh, well . . . :eek:ld:
Click to expand...
My wife and I are both quiet. For years and years, we would go out after work on Wednesdays to a brew pub that has dollar pints, and we would sit there drinking beer and visiting. Now that we are both home all day, we will be here on Wednesdays and hardly say a word to each other, then at five-thirty we will go down to the pub, get our table, and talk our heads off. That is just funny when you think about it.
 
I would like to do that too, but we don't go to bars anymore. California has really strict drunk driving laws, and it's just not worth driving around with beer breath. I drink at home now, but not much any more.

I'm a really outgoing person. I usta love to sit and chat over a drink. Life just isn't as much fun as it usta be--Ahhh well . . .

Set 'em up! :eek:ld:
 
My kids don't usually bother me when I'm playing ukulele, but if I play clarinet or flute, they feel the need to come into that room, walk around me and try to get me to make eye contact. It is almost like they are jealous.

My husband might also interrupt flute and clarinet, but I will get to the end of the phrase or whatever I may be doing before answering and asking him/them (the kids) to repeat the question. Then, my answer is always no, not now, but I'll see to it after I finish playing. Eventually they may figure it out.

I teach lessons from home and the kids are usually okay when I'm doing lessons. My youngest will sometimes start to be clingy... I nip it in the bud.
 
I thought the title of this thread was a lesson in how to speak to your wife.
 
It sounds like what we are really talking about here is interruptions, not anything spousal, gender, or even species related. I can't speak about pets, since our current menagerie ignores me. When someone interrupts me when I'm doing anything but cooking or driving, I stop and LISTEN to what they are saying. Frequently it is very obvious that I have terminated my activities to listen to them. People at least understand that what they are saying is important to me. It normally doesn't take too long for them to realize that my music is important to me and that I don't multi-task well. Interruptions have become less frequent.
 
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