The Marriage Texting Challenge

 

I saw this post on Facebook about a month ago and thought it was hysterical:

Tell Your Husband You Love Him

A group of women were at a seminar on “How to live in a loving relationship with your husband.”
The women were asked, "How many of you love your husband?" All the women raised their hands....
The women were then told to take out their cell phones and text their husband: "I love you, sweetheart."...
The women were then told to exchange phones with another person, and to read aloud the text message they received in response.

Here are some of the replies:

1. Who the hell is this?

2. Eh, mother of my children, are you sick or what?

3. Yeah, and I love you too. What's up with you?

4. What now? Did you crash the car again?

5. I don't understand what you mean?

6. What did you do now?

7. ?!?

8. Don't beat about the bush, just tell me how much you need?

9. Am I dreaming?

10. If you don't tell me who this message is actually for, someone will die.

11. I thought we agreed you wouldn't drink during the day.

12. Your mother is coming to stay with us, isn't she??


The replies really made me think.  I've been married 24, going on 25 years.  While I tell my husband I love him regularly, this experiment made me think about how many times I've said "I love you.......... and I found a new sofa", or "I love you...... but I closed the garage door on the car's liftgate again" vs. just saying those 3 little words with no condition attached.

As a wife, I've always tried to express my feelings regularly (and being a redhead I probably express them TOO regularly), but I felt the need to test this experiment out on my husband to see whether I was a member of the "conditions attached" club.  With great confidence that I wasn't, I texted the quote challenge word-for-word to my husband.  

Fully expecting to be able to gloat with great pleasure over how his reply would prove how much I have regularly expressed my love with no conditions attached, I eagerly awaited his reply.  Within seconds he responded............ "I love you too.  What's up?".

Hi.  My name is Christie and I am a member of the "I haven't expressed my love for my spouse without some condition attached" club........

A Study in Hearts Beating as One

A psychology professor out of UC Davis recently released a  study on couples in romantic relationships.  He found that when couples were sitting several feet apart and facing one another, but not touching or speaking, their heart rates were in-sync and they breathed in and out at the same intervals.  When moved apart, their bodies continued to stay as one. 

When these same couples were switched with unfamiliar partners, none of their heart rates or respirations were in-sync.  They also discovered in the course of this study that women adjusted their body's heart rate and breathing more to fit their partner's than men's bodies do.

In other words, when we are together with the right partner, our bodies are in perfect harmony, and the woman picks up her partner's slack so they stay in harmony.  

I can see that last theory because even after being together for nearly 25 years, my husband and I work together:  he leaves the toilet seat up and I put it down.  He sets a fresh roll of toilet paper right on top of the empty cardboard tube and I replace it.  He will hand me my raincoat and the dog leash with his free hand, while using the remote to change tv channels with his other, when the dog needs to go for a walk on a rainy day.  

And our heart rates can really get in-sync when I discover I'm the only person in the house who knows that the dirty dishes go in the dishwasher.  Or, when there is one piece of chocolate left and he picks it up, you can bet we are in perfect sync then.

As for our respirations, I'm sure they have been in perfect harmony many times, especially when the kids were babies.  While holding his breath, he would hand me a stinky baby who desperately needed a diaper change, which would cause me to hold my breath.  

See, perfect harmony. It's good to know schools are still conducting great informational studies like this one.

by: Christie Bielss