My partner and I have been together for 10 years. He’s never been a chatty man (unless talking to other men about cars or building) and over the years I feel I’ve become quieter too. We are both retired. Neither of us have many friends although we’d love to have more we don’t seem to be able to achieve it. We are happy together albeit a little quiet. We don’t have any hobbies other than gardening/walking/renovating - all of which we do together - quietly! My main problem is when we go out to dinner. We get all dressed up (which we enjoy), make up on (me :-)), and off we go. Settle in, choose food, wine for me and a beer for him… then we struggle. We just can’t seem to have a decent conversation. We start topics but they seem to get shut down quickly. So we eat and are back home - sometimes only an hour or so later! I see other couples chatting and wonder how they do it? When we go on holiday we go out at night for a meal, eat and drink and back to the hotel! We’re often back for 9-9.30 at which point he puts the TV on and I just read until sleep time. So, I’m looking for a solution. I wondered if there were tips or books out there on how to have better conversations. I know lots of people struggle with this but I’d love to improve this side of our relationship. Help!!!
