David: Did you go to see the marriage counselor with Laura last week?

Arthur: Yes I did and the shrink asked each of us to make a list of the rules we wanted the other to abide by in the relationship.

David: And did you both agree to accept each others set of rules?

Arthur: Not at all, we never came to an agreement.

David: What were the set of rules you each wrote down?

Arthur: Well she wanted me not to wet the bathroom floor next to the toilet when I needed to go because she is tired of cleaning the bathroom after me. On the other hand I wanted her to be clear with her words when she wanted something from me; I don’t read minds, and she is always asking me to do things in a round about way by giving me hints that I don’t get.

I also wrote that “yes” and “no” should be appropriate answers to her questions; she always feels I am not kind enough with my short answers.

David: I see. It’s surprising that you have the same kind of marriage problems that I have with Dana. What other rules did you both write about?

Arthur: Well I want Saturday night free so that I can get together with you and my other buddies and drink beer and watch football while she wanted us to go to the mall shopping and catch a chick flick on Saturday night. She also had a rule asking for me to wash the dishes and do the laundry and other house shores at least twice a week.

She also asked for me not to fall sleep while being together at night. I wrote that her friends can only come and visit once a week and that my mother in law can only come to stay with us once a year. I also asked her only to talk to me during commercials while I watch football. I said that when we go out I am happy with whatever she wears, she almost always tries different clothing for an hour at least, and I don’t  want to stay there to give my opinion about whether they fit or not and if the colors match or don’t. The last rule I wrote about states that when we have a fight is forbidden to bring things that happened more than six months ago, I often get accused about things that happened more than five years ago.