like doogie howser... only different

2006-09-27

In which I worry a little about the lack of emotional depth in my marriage...

Snippet of a conversation with a 30-year-old man I recently met:

ME: I'm missing the premiere of Gilmore Girls tonight. Does your wife watch the Gilmore Girls?
HIM: We don�t have a tv in our house.
ME: Seriously?
HIM: When my wife and I are home together we like to spend time with each other. We talk or play chess. Sometimes we�ll read.
ME: Seriously?
HIM: Yes. We�d much prefer to spend time talking to each other than sitting in front of the TV.
ME: And you�ve been married for how long?
HIM: Seven years.
ME: Seriously?

This conversation stuck with me. My husband and I watch a lot of TV -- sometimes together, sometimes apart. I was wondering if the opportunity cost of watching that much TV was that we didn�t talk to each other. The economist in me decided to do a little cost/benefit analysis when I got home.

Last night Geoff and I watched Boston Legal together. During the show, I took note of the amount of enjoyment Geoff and I got out of watching Denny Crane et. al., as evidenced by the amount of laughter and the times we said, �That�s my new favorite line!� When the show was over I did a mental comparison of the level of enjoyment versus the projected amount of enjoyment Geoff and I would have had discussing how our days went or the weather or politics, etc. And I have to say, even in this most unscientific analysis, the benefit of watching TV far outweighed the cost of not discussing whether Deval Patrick is a viable candidate for governor given his current financial burdens. So I�m going to go ahead and not worry about the strength of our relationship and just focus on the fact that it�s a new Lost tonight.

Besides, it�s not like Geoff and I didn�t talk last night. In fact, I can remember at least two times I said to him, �Honey, a little to the left � you�re blocking the TV!� Yeah, no worries -- I�ve got your emotional depth right here!