Relationship with Spouse: We Are Wired Differently

I am sure we have all been in situations with our significant others where, five minutes into an argument, we struggle to identify the source of our disagreement!  I read the book “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” some years back, and it was a major eye-opener to learn that the brains of men and women are wired fundamentally differently, and these differences in wiring translate into differences in the way we think, the way we listen, the way we speak, the way we analyse, and the way we respond.

I came across this video on The Read String: a 14-minute snippet in which Mark Gungor describes, in a humorous and very-easy-to-understand delivery, how indeed the male and female brains are wired and the differences therein.  It is a must-watch for every one who is – or intends to be – in a lifetime marital relationship with a member of the opposite gender.

In fact, I would highly recommend the full 73-minute video, taken at one of Mark Gungor’s Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage seminars, for more tips on how husbands and wives can communicate more effectively and minimise using up precious emotional energy quarreling over issues of the brain that have been mistaken for issues of the heart :-).

So, having watched this video(s), have any light bulbs gone off about previous interactions with your spouse?  Do you think it will help improve your relationship with your spouse going forward?

Relationship with Offspring: Kuli-kuli is the New Candy

Where two or more tiny tots are gathered, you have a petri dish!  The products of this petri dish have been known to not only circulate within the originating gathering, but to also jump unto innocent bystanders like parents, teachers, and other caregivers, knocking them out .  Regarding my brief hiatus, that is the long and short of it :-).

I am a self-confessed Ijebu-garri-soaking addict.  Preferably in extremely cold water with epa yinyan (roasted peanuts) or kuli-kuli alata (spicy fried peanut cakes).  As they say, the apple does not fall far from the tree – my father has this “delicacy” for dessert after his dinner almost every day.  And when he is leaving the country’s shores for any reason, he always has his ingredients among the items in his suitcase so he doesn’t miss a fix :-).

Kuli-kuli

… this is how it’s done 🙂

Master Energizer Bunny (EB) and Miss Adorable Bun (AB) also love garri !  During their recent bout with the products of the petri dish, when appetites were low, the one thing I knew EB would ingest for sure was garri; so when all else failed at dinner time, I would administer a fix to enable him have a full tummy so he could sleep well.  I now have to time my own fixes to coincide with their absence, or hide in the toilet so I do not get disturbed!

EB and AB also love kuli-kuli alata.  Their love for it is so great, that it now serves as the perfect silence mechanism, i.e. whenever I am in their company and need 5 – 10 minutes of quiet, I administer a few pieces of kuli-kuli and every where goes ssshhh as they focus on savouring every bite as they chomp.  Hence, there is no need for candy in our home .

So, can we deduce from the foregoing that this particular addiction is hereditary :-)?  What interesting “addictions” do you or anyone you know have?