Over the last few weeks, I have been surprised to find myself in several long conversations about football with my husband. For those of you who didn't know, I'm the sports fan in our family and football has previously been about as interesting to him as a day at Bellevue Square. (Actually, he'd probably enjoy that more.)
He decided that since I'm not going to stop liking football, he should at least learn enough about it to be able to talk about it with me. And boy, did he ever. I suddenly found myself debating merits of quarterbacks, the differences in defense schemes and potential strategies for opposing teams in upcoming games. He took the time to research and became so well versed in the analytics of the game, that I actually found myself having to research to keep up with him.
This is not the only subject that he has done this with, just the most recent. I remember on one trip to the mall, coming out of the dressing room and asking him what he thought. He thought for a minute and then asked, "When you ask me that, what are you looking for?" Which then led to a discussion of fit, style, and generally what I look for in an outfit when a girlfriend asks me for my opinion.
Now ladies, before you go running off to show this to your husband/SO, ask yourself what you have taken the time to learn that is important to him.
For the last five years, I have asked a lot of questions about guitars, amps and recording gear. I can now explain (somewhat) the difference between Strats & Les Pauls. I can tell you that my husband likes PRS guitars, but can't stand their pickups, so if he ever bought one, the first thing he would do is swap out the pickups. I can tell you that he typically prefers the tone of a tube amp to a solid state (and that he's a fan of Trainers and Voxes). I still get lost in the technical details sometimes, but have enough of an understanding to keep from tuning out once he starts talking shop with other guitar players.
Learning about each other, and your likes, dislikes and passions is a life-long pursuit. And, who knows, you may end up actually liking to watch football, if you're willing to give it a try.
