Okay, that’s kind of an unfair question. After all (in most cases… hehe) the relationship is as different as could be. Perhaps I should rephrase: To whom do you show more courtesy and consideration: your boss or your spouse?

The question is one I’ve vaguely had in mind for a few days, ever since I decided to multitask by using my lunch hour get my cardio in via taking the dog for a jog. I also took along my Bluetooth headset just in case any clients called. Instead, it was my husband who called, and I tried valiantly to have a decent conversation while keeping my pace through the home stretch. Eventually, he griped, “I can’t hear a thing you’re saying with all that wind. Just call me later.” Before hanging up, he added, sort of incredulously, “You wouldn’t actually talk to a client like this, would you?”

My immediate, indignant response: “Of course not! I’d stop jogging and ask if I could call back in a minute or two, once I was back inside and they could hear better.”

Which begs the question: Why didn’t I pay my husband the same courtesy?

I felt a little guilty about this. But then later that night, after my husband let out a particularly gruesome belch, I snapped, “I know you can hold that in. I mean, you wouldn’t do that in front of customers, would you? Or your boss?” He grinned in admission.

So, I know, I know—everyone wants to relax when they get home, let the polite facade slip right off. And if spouses or significant others can’t be real with each other, well, when can they be real? But just the same, I think it’s a good little reminder to do better with the little things we tend to neglect when we get comfortable.

By the way, these anecdotes aside, my husband I really are quite a nice couple.

What about you? What common niceties do you find yourself ignoring when you’re with your significant other, and vice versa?