Broken Windows

My wife broke the display panel on one of the rather pricey workstation monitors.

“Just shout at me and tell me off!” she says.

“No,” I reply, “it’s 4AM in the morning in the hotel. People are asleep.”

“Well at least be angry at me!” she pressed.

“Will that help you feel better?” I ask.

Shouting won’t fix it. Getting angry won’t fix it. Blaming her won’t fix it. Berating her won’t fix it. Pointing out her mistake won’t fix it.

None of those courses of action will fix the monitor.

The only outcome will be damage to our relationship

Don’t get me wrong, I am upset that the monitor is broken.

I might have broken it, she might have broken it, an earthquake might have broken it, random heat dissipation might have broken it.

Being angry at the person I have to share my life with, being angry at someone who I will be with every day for the next thirty years, the Lloyd willing, won’t move us past the problem of a broken video monitor.

I am upset that the monitor is broken.

I am not upset by the act, or the person.

I will replace the monitor in a month or two, and we will move on.

Besides, on the upside, it is a strong bargaining chip because she cannot stop me buying one of those new 5K or 8K monitors now.