Dear Charles,

Sometimes when I get home from work on Friday I just want to kick my shoes off, sit down on the couch and flip through the channels for an hour or so before talking about what we’re going to do for the night. But my girlfriend always bugs me and needs to decide as soon as I walk in the door what we are going to do. Why does she do this when I tell her that I just need some time to unwind first?

Henri


Dear Henri,

Women are crazy.

But that’s okay, because they don’t mean it.

You’re actually in pretty good shape compared to some as most guys will make the mistake of making plans for Friday on Tuesday. Then they have to talk about these plans for the rest of the week.

An infinite number of details will need to be covered on Wednesday when they get home from work and want to relax, Thursday when they get home for work and want to relax, as well as Friday. Not to mention all of the email conversations relating to the subject that they must endure while at work all week.

And in the end, the plans surely weren’t all that complex and everything will have happened exactly as it would have happened had none of these infinite number of preparation conversations taken place.

I suggest that you maintain your current habits, with one small exception. On your way home from work on Friday, turn off your cell phone and stop at a bookstore. Make sure it’s a bookstore with some comfy leather chairs. Grab some easy reading material and do your one-hour, post-work-week chill-down right there in the bookstore. If you prefer television, you can do the same thing at your local sports bar. The important thing is to turn your cell phone off so that you are not interrupted. If she asks where you were when you get home, just say, “I don’t want to talk about work, let’s talk about you, me, and this evening.

Your friend,

Charles.

Dear Charles,

How come there are so few questions from women on your site?

Jake

Dear Captain Perceptive,

In answer to your query: The only two women in the world who don’t hate me are my wife and my mother.

My wife doesn’t know that I have this website and my mother doesn’t know how to use a computer.

Optimistically,

Charles


To learn more about me, Charles, visit my blog here.

To have your life enlightened by my relationship expertise, email your questions to me at Ask Charles.