I know it’s rarely considered appropriate to vent about problems in your marriage, especially over the internet, but sometimes things get so bad that you just can’t keep quiet about them. My hope is that by getting this all out there, some of you might be able to help.
The dry climate here in West Texas causes so many problems in my life, but the one that probably drives me the craziest on a regular basis is the ridiculous static electricity build up that accumulates in my body every few minutes. I feel like I’m always getting shocked on something, and it really gets old. In fact, I have learned that if I don’t want to get painfully shocked when I close the car door, I need to use the back of my hand (thank you Fire Safety Class) to absorb the shock first.
And lately this problem has extended its ugly electric hand into one place it was most definitely not welcome — my marriage. Almost every time Katie and I kiss, I cause our lips to get shocked, and the sweet romantic gesture became a painful moment of apology. We’ve begun to refer to these as “sharp kisses” and I’m getting so tired of them. I’m actually afraid to kiss my own wife. I’ve even begun touching her arm with my hand just to make sure I won’t shock her, which, if you ask me, is absolutely ridiculous.
So forgive me for bringing this up in such a public arena, but I just don’t know what to do anymore. Can anyone help me? Can anyone help us?
January 28th, 2010 at 11:01 am
Put a pot of water on the stove to simmer to put moisture in the air during the day while you’re home. This will significantly decrease the dryness in the air and the static electricity. Or use a humidifier if you have one. Then your kisses will be a joy once again.
January 28th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
Son
Humidity in the home should certainly cause this problem to decrease if not disappear. In the past, I have had to changed shoes to solve the problem, as some were worse than others (do I discovered).
Let’s hope that this shocking romance between you two will end soon!
Love Dad
January 28th, 2010 at 1:26 pm
Well I used to teach Mad Science so I know all about static electricity. If you can find something metal (such as after getting out of the car) or wood to touch before you touch her it might get rid of it (depending on what caused it). Also shuffling your feet can cause static electricity but I don’t know if you do or not! Also I’ve heard that dry skin can cause it as well so try putting on lotion a lot. Hope that helps!
January 28th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
Chad just kisses me & then complains. :) (I’m the static-y one.) But if we kiss again immediately afterwards, the shock is gone. So my advice to you is: Once you start kissing, don’t stop too quickly.
And I’m feeling rather awkward about this whole comment, but since I already typed it, here ya go.
January 28th, 2010 at 3:42 pm
I like Su’s answer the best, but logically, I think the shoes is the solution! Let us know how that works for you guys!!
January 28th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
You can always touch the screw on the light switch before you kiss her. If it is hooked up correctly then you should get shocked. Another solution is move to Houston.
January 29th, 2010 at 3:43 am
Oh man, you just brought back some increasingly forgotten memories. Living in Lubbock got me into a deeply ingrained habit of always touching the frame of the car door with my arm (through a sleeve to dampen the sharpness of the shock) first thing upon getting out. It took over a year of not owning a car to break me of that.
February 2nd, 2010 at 8:54 pm
hahaha, we have the same problem!!! We just touch our arms before we kiss to prevent our lips from hurting. That helps a bunch.
February 3rd, 2010 at 10:13 am
Make sure when you touch Katie’s arm you use the back of your hand…safety first…