Yes, Dear

I love to get to the office early so that I can leave at a relatively decent time, meaning early. It was the first real day back in the office after the New Year. It was 7:30 and all was quiet. I was getting through my emails and planning my work for the day. All was quiet on the eastern work front until I heard someone yelling to someone else on the phone in a undecipherable language.

When did this person walk into this group of desk? Who the hell were they yelling at this early in the morning? Why is this something anyone (even the mice) should be subjected to at any point in the day much less the quiet of the morning?

I complained about this via instant message to an old co-worker friend who greeted me with wishes for a wonderful 2014. I told him that it sounded like this person was yelling at his wife. And he responded “Doesn’t he know the only thing he should be saying to his wife is ‘Yes, Dear’?”

I told him that obviously this guy had no clue on how to have a happy marriage. My fried reminded me that he had been married for 19 years. Evidently my friend knew exactly how to be successful at home and at work. He told me that “Yes, Dear” even applies at work but the phrasing is slightly different.

Sometimes you have to disguise it- “You’re right!”….”Great idea!”….”Why didn’t I think of that!”

That explained to me how he recently got promoted. Here I was thinking that maybe coming up with efficiency plans and cleaning up old outstanding issues would get me further along in the work hierarchy. I think that also explains how men get ahead. They have a lot of practice saying “Yes, Dear”. I definitely can’t say I’ve mastered that turn of phrase in the least. Sounds to me like Mr. Early Bird hadn’t mastered it either.