How to Fight with your Mate

An article on NYTimes.com today shows that how couples fight has as powerful an effect on the health of women as smoking or high cholesterol AND that women who silence themselves, even in a marriage that is generally happy, are risking their health.

I was struck by this paragraph from the article:

"For women, whether a husband’s arguing style was warm or hostile had the biggest effect on her heart health. Dr. Smith notes that in a fight about money, for instance, one man said, “Did you pass elementary school math?” But another said, “Bless you, you are not so good with the checkbook, but you’re good at other things.” In both exchanges, the husband was criticizing his wife’s money management skills, but the second comment was infused with a level of warmth. In the study, a warm style of arguing by either spouse lowered the wife’s risk of heart disease."

And because laughter is good medicine, my belly laugh for today came when I went to get the laundry from the dryer this a.m. Griffin had stuffed in the shirt that I had told him to put in the laundry last night. Now I know what he was doing forever last night before bed!!