The Silent Treatment — When Silence Speaks Louder Than Words
What is the difference between giving tough love and being a jerk?
In late September 2000, my husband, John, and I had a doozie of an argument about me procrastinating on my writing. To drive home his point — that I was going to have to learn how to say no to things I didn’t want to do (such as respond to my mother’s every whim) and yes to things I did (supposedly) want to do, such as write — he decided to give me the silent treatment.
Seriously?
In the twelve years we’d been together as a couple, he’d never pulled that stunt before. When we needed to hash things out, we talked.
Not this time.
My silent treatment lasted three days. I was beyond livid. But…I did do a little thinking.
Finally, on the afternoon of Thursday, September 28th, 2000, John suggested we go for a walk. We were at the dog park and I said to him, “I am so scared I am going to wake up twenty years from now and still not having finished writing a book.”
John stopped walking, turned to me, and said, “You’re probably right about that, Maryanne…just as long as you know that will have been your choice.”
Ouch. What a jerk.
But…twelve years IS a long time to listen to someone talk about their dream of becoming a writer — yet doing very little in the way of any actual writing.
I got his point. Sort of.
After our walk, we went home, and John had a nap before going in to work for 9pm…
