[cgbg]

I remember when I was a kid I would listen to my grandfather and grandmother argue like crazy.

I was always the analytical sort so I tried to figure out what was happening that caused the arguments and kept them going.

After a while I figured out they both had two problems:

—Their hearing was not great and they were misunderstanding what the other person said
—They were forgetting things and then wrongly blaming the other person.

So, now that I am older I have a couple of tricks to keep everybody calm.

If my wife said “you said X” and I don’t recall saying X I just tell her the truth in a nice way.

“My memory is not that good these days so I am sure you are not surprised that I do not remember that.”

Then if my wife does not understand me or misunderstands me I slow down my speech, move closer to her to make sure she can hear me and simplify it to make sure she can understand it.

That works well.

We get to make jokes about memory and hearing loss—and everything is good.

[DoodleBob]

Then if my wife does not understand me or misunderstands me I slow down my speech

Off topic, but the Reverend Jim drivers test/“what does a yellow light mean?” scene from the TV show “Taxi” is one of the funniest things ever.

[alexander_busek]

“My memory is not that good these days so I am sure you are not surprised that I do not remember that.”

That appears to be a variation of the tactic the Joey Bishop character used in that scene of "Guide for the Married Man."

"What girl? What bed? What lingerie?"

Regards,

[Adder]

move closer to her to make sure she can hear me and simplify it to make sure she can understand it.

“I said ‘shut up!” is probably not a good line to use?