It makes me feel like she's in a phase of heightened awareness and we really are on our way to putting this topic behind us. Here's the deal: Holly loves fast-paced conversation, whereas I'm more of the dramatic-pause type. I like people to wonder whether I'm taking a really long time to respond because I'm deep in thought, or because I'm about to sneeze.

I don't get to take very many of those pauses when I'm talking to Holly. I know that if I pause for too long, there's a chance she'll jump in and finish my sentence for me. On the one hand it keeps things moving, I stay alert, and often emerge from the conversation feeling like I burned a few calories. On the other, I don't need to burn any calories. I used to feel emasculated by the interruptions, but I've let that go. I'm clear now that that isn't Holly's intention. So I guess it belongs in the category of "the challenges of marriage that no one ever articulates when talking about how marriage is challenging." I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's obvious that Holly is trying to change -- which makes me more than willing to meet her halfway.

Let's hear from other guys -- what's your most common argument?