Girl, why do you do this to me?

Don’t I love you? Don’t I respect you? Don’t I treat you better than any other man ever has? Why do you have to treat me this way?

Don’t I do nice things for you? Take you out to fancy dinners? Make you breakfast in bed on Sunday mornings? Get you things from downstairs when you’re tired? All I ask is a little respect, some recognition that our relationship has give-and-take, and that you use spell check when you email me.

Love is a two way street, and when we’re together, girl, I feel you. That connection. That incredible high I get when I’m near you. I treat you right because I value you as a person. You don’t ask for much, and I’d gladly give you all I have and more just to be with you.

And yet when you send me text messages that say “WHER R U???”, I don’t feel that connection. I feel lost, like I don’t know you, and you don’t know me. It makes me sad, and yet when I tell you how I feel, you don’t listen.

Love is about the little things. When I wake you up in the morning to get ready for work, I don’t wake you rudely. I leave the light off and kiss you lightly on the forehead, because I want you to start your day knowing that I love and respect you. It’s not a grand gesture, and takes only a second, but it makes you happy, just like how checking to ensure you’re not using caps-lock when you email me would make me happy. It would make me so very happy.

Girl, it’s not a lot that I ask from you. Just a little love and respect. Love is all about communication, that’s why I tell you so often that I love you, and why I listen when you talk. Love is built on being able to understand one another, and I want to understand. But when I get emails like,

“? 10.00 for the stand, right? we have basket that useles wihtout the stand…10. no more…”,

I can’t feel that understanding, that visceral love connection I know we both share.

I hope you read this and you feel me, Girl. I hope you understand what I’m trying to tell you.

Because I have no friggin’ clue what your wrote in that last email.

But Girl, I still love you.

Extrapolated from a real-life exchange I had with my wife. Title image by PhotoJonny.