wife, may have to take away her 4kcsq

[Lee Levitt]

"Steve Beeler" <flyboysteve at usa.com> writes:

> Tell me if I'm out of line here or what...Wife pulls up into the
> driveway with lifters clacking,  engine sounding like a sewing machine on
> steroids and said "the engine is making a funny noise,  when was the last
> time YOU checked the oil?".  Is it not the pilots job to preflight and
> responsibility to make sure his craft is airworthy?  I haven't driven the
4kq for
> months,  I forgot it was MY responsibility to preflight her car before
> every departure.  I taught her how do oil checks years ago as well as
change a
> flat tire but I guess it didn't take.  Should I take back the Audi (amid
> accusations of her being "unworthy") and let her continue to drive the
rice
> burning honda?  Damn thing is so slow it can't get out of it's own
> way,  a true pinnacle of Jap econo-engineering,  hell I can't even fit in
> the thing even with the seats all the way back.  I don't know what I
should
> do,  the honda is really a deathtrap even in a minor wreck and handles too
> poorly to avoid one,  but damn can't she appreciate the Audi enough to
> check the oil?  I guess I'm just expecting too much.

Yep, you're out of line :)

Question is...how long do you want to stay married to this woman?

If this is a quick legal fling, then go ahead and blame her for her lack of
mechanical eptitude (grin).

On the other hand, if you want to stay with her for a while, take back
accountability for the mechanical aspects of the relationship (ahem) and
drive her car every week or so to make sure that none of the wheels have
fallen off.

I used to get pissed off that my wife couldn't pack the dishwasher
efficiently. Now I just smile and repack it, then give her a hug. It's one
of those things that she'll never get, and I can take care of without
getting torqued.

I recently drove her car and noticed that her ashtray was out of coins for
parking meters. Did I rant and rave that I had to go digging to feed the
meter? Nope, next chance I got I grabbed a handful of coins from my coin
stash and filled her ashtray, and made a mental note to check it
periodically...after I check her oil and make sure that nothing important
has fallen off the car.

We're on our way to 17 years of marriage. I only recently made this shift in
mental mindset...in part because it looked like we might not make it to 16.
Only took getting hit over the head with a virtual 2x4 to get my attention
on this, btw. Now I'm reasonably confident about 40. :)

If any of you men want to talk further about this, contact me offline.

Lee
'95.5 S6 avant (mine)
'96 A6 quattro avant (hers, down a half quart, but I'm working on it)