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Sigh at me one more time....I dare you!

what a husbands sigh says to his wife

In the words of Allison Krauss "you say it best, when you say nothing at all" 
Ignoring the fact that this lyric is romantic in context of the song.....I mean it quite to the contrary.

     My husband came home after a long days work and an hour or better drive home. First thing he does is wash his hands to get the kid cooties off that are inevitable when working with 23 kindergartners.  As the water runs between his fingers he tells me how happy he is to be home and how hungry he is. As he does this I am switching my fifth yes FIFTH load of laundry for the day. Just as I walk past him carrying a laundry basket over flowing with freshly cleaned laundry, he turns to where our hand towel is usually kept and wait for it......SIGH. The biggest, most dramatic exhale you have ever heard. Slight exaggeration, perhaps. Not the point. The point is, what I clearly heard him 'say' was "are you kidding me, no clean towel, what have you been doing all day"
    Ladies, I know I'm not alone here. We all hear what our husbands are 'saying'. In every glance, every scoff, every crooked smile we are able to read their minds and better than 50 percent of the time it's something negative. Or at least that's what I've found from my calculations.
    What he doesn't understand is that at this point in the day I have not stopped moving in over 12 hours. I am aware there are still toys all over the floor, dishes in the sink, there very well may still be reminiscence of breakfast and lunch on the table! But I have been 'doing' all day. The truth of the matter is, I too am disappointed that despite all my best efforts this is what I have to show for my hard work.
    So my brain goes into over drive, I mean I've already read his mind, now I have to decide how to respond. This isn't quite silent treatment worthy, do I snap back at him? I literally don't have the energy for that. Cry? Sure I could cry, that's kind of my go to no matter what emotion I'm currently faced with. My face must have alerted him to the misfiring in my brain and he interrupts my thoughts to say, "Did you have a long day too?" Oh let me tell you! My list of 'accomplishments' for the day came pouring out of my mouth. He just sits quietly listening and when I've finally run out of breath he says, "Well dinner is delicious, stop folding and come sit with me." 
    Okay, Maybe my mind reading power isn't up to par. MAYBE I'm exhausted, just like him and I was barely balancing on the ledge of sanity when that sigh pushed me right over the edge. I think because men aren't the best communicators us women are left to reading between the lines and evaluating body language. Sometimes we are better at this then others. Just keep in mind, despite being home all day we have been working all day too. In fact, we still haven't clocked out yet!



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