Lost In Translation

 
Men and women
Complementary opposites
Vital to the continuation of the human race

Different?

Oh Yeah!!
Very much so
Not quite the Venus and Mars thing
But sometimes
It feels like it

Take these 2 simple words that I've seen cause conflict and turmoil and disgust between the two

"Compromise"
and "Support"

Seems simple
And straightforward
But all adults know what a minefield those words really are

To me, as a man, compromise means doing what I want one time
And doing what she wants the next time
It's all about fairness in my head

To women I've known
It means finding, or creating, a hybrid that contains a little of each of our wishes

No one gets exactly what's wanted
But neither person is completely overruled or empty-handed
Theoretically
But what looks good on paper don't always work in the flesh and blood and personality difference world

To me, this kind of resultant mashup isn't worth the effort of participating

Hot water is for bathing
Cold water for drinking
Warm water is unsuitable for either one

To me,
support is largely a mental thing
encouragement,
advice when, or if, requested,
staying out of the way when my woman is busy,
not doing anything to steal her thunder or damage her image
and eliminating anyone who puts forth effort to be an obstacle or a dream-killer

To women I've known,
it meant passing up times of enjoyable hobbies to go places with her.
It meant giving up what I love so she could pursue her ambitions.
It meant listening to ideas about which I had no meaningful input because she wanted to tell me about her day (this one made, makes, no sense to me; but I learned when to shut up and nod)

Not saying that either interpretation is incorrect
But my actions and attitude will mirror my perceptions of a request

These lost in translation moments have caused me lots of grief that could have been avoided with a better knowledge of the mind of the person with whom I was having the conversation


P.S. - Kinda funny how words can screw up communication
Like the Lil John version of "Skeet" and T.I.'s version of "Trap" when contrasted against the Olympic version of those words, which both involve competitive shotgun sports.
Not sexual release and the drug dealing lifestyle