Have you ever experienced a moment when your significant other -- be it a wife, fiancee, or girlfriend -- says something to you that you could never say back? Maybe she intends the remark to be a compliment. Maybe she's poking fun at some quirky masculine trait. Well, if it's a comment you can't reply to with a, "Me too, honey" then it's officially a "TCCSTYCB" -- a Thing Chicks Can Say To You That You Can't Say Back. Or, a CSB (Can't Say Back), for short.
My sweet Sarah is usually a kindhearted soul, but sometimes her attempts at verbal afirmation lose something in the trip from her feminine mind to my ears. I've started keeping track of our CSB moments. As a way to demonstrate the differences in how guys and gals communicate, and to save my fellow man from stumbling into a conversational booby trap unawares I'm going to share an occasional CSB for our mutual edification.
CSB #1:
After a late night run to our neighborhood Super Target, S and I are tossing our grocery bags in the back seat of the Four (that's what we call our 4-Runner). The final bag lands in the back seat, and as I turn the cart around to put it in the corral, Sarah smiles and says, "I love when you go shopping with me. You're so big!"
"Aww, you're so sweet. Me, toooooo Oh...wait a second!" What is she saying? Like, she's happy she won't have to carry the groceries in from the truck because I'm going to inhale them all on the way home? Or, my massive bulk blocks other carts from entering the store isles so she can dash in and get the last of the sale items? Or, I'm easy to buy food for because I apparently will eat anything? Errr...thanks. I think?
This is a classic CSB. You can't say, "You're welcome, your so big, too." If you do, your relationship is about to change. Drastically.The upside is she'll never ever ask you, "Does this dress make me look fat?" ever again. Pretty much got that one answered. The down side is, you will either be slapped for being naughty, or slapped for being mean.
When your gal compliments you for being so big you can carry all the shopping bags in one trip or because you deter thugs in dark parking lots, a simple thanks will do. Don't go into auto pilot on this one and do the quick, "Me, too." It's a total CSB.
