Tips on dealing with non-orienteering husband

[NFKleanne]

Help, my husband is currently not a happy chappy . He's just looked at my diary for next year and is really annoyed that I am taking "his" children, my step children - orienteering to much in January and February. Theres the NOR colour coded event, East Anglia Junior Potential squad training, Compass sport Cup/trophy whatever we enter, Thetford thrash weekend and then Suffolk punch and norfolk dumpling weekends.

Other than not going to some of the orienteering events [(which is not going to happen ) - if I work out how to enter online - but thats another thread], any idea how i can make him happier about he situation!

[redkite]

1 Make sure you have sky so he can watch the football in peace when kids not there

2 Book some nice holidays then find out there is a good orienteering event at the same location at the same time. I have just booked a weekend in edinburgh at end of January for the two of us!! (wife does not orienteer)

3 emphasise bonding opportunities etc

4 buy him golf club membership and then drop him off at nearest golf club to the event and pay for round

[rebbid]

Why tell him you're going orienteering? If you say the Double Dumpling is a 2 for 1 sunday dinner option he might come too. Whey you get there you say "woops, seems to be an o event, you might as well do the orange", and he might get hooked too.

Next week Suffolk Punch is a beer festival etc etc.

Mmm, Thetford Thrash.

[Mrs H]

Ha ha ha - what about SinS?
If you need to be more serious Leanne I'll remind you of something I said in the thread on whether orienteering was an expensive sport:

seeing what sort of people my children have grown up to be i will give the sport the benefit of the doubt and say it's been worth every penny.

and of course all the time and effort as well.

What an excellent job you are doing of bringing up 'his' children

[madmike]

too much orienteering

There's no such thing as too much orienteering
How could he suggest such a thing

To deal with my less-orienteering other half (vice non-orienteering), I use the ignore it and crack on with the plan technique when I'm asked when we are going to have a "proper" holiday - get's a bit frosty for a while but normality is soon resumed, and after 11 years of orienteering holidays she's got used to it

[andy]

Guess it depends on what his children want to do, if they want to go orienteering (I guess it depends on how old they are too) then so be it, tell him where to go

[SeanC]

Another strategy might be to get relatives to buy regional event entry as Christmas gifts. The kids would have to go then wouldn't they?

The long term answer has to be one of the following

a) renewing marrage vowes with "I agree that orienteering is not an occasional recreational activity but a way of life to be practised at every available opportunity"

or

b) (and I'm with rebbid on this one) convert him to Orienteering.

Any ideas on the latter? When I ask my wife if she wants to go orienteering she says "I don't really want to orienteer, and I don't want to sit in a car in a field in the middle of bloody nowhere".

[NFKleanne]

Thanks for the replies - they made me smile!

Should I not go to Thetford Thrash- Rebbid? Is it treally that bad. I thought if I got an early (ish) start, I could be home by 2ish -- then we could go out, somewhere he wanted.

I like the idea of renewing my wedding vows, but not on a sunday - lol and holidays planned for places with POC's, there have never been O events in cornwall in October 1/2 term - next year there will be as we are going somewhere else.

I could always ditch him, but that wouldn't work as NOR junior numbers would fall!

Have just booke dhim Jethro tickets, that might work for a while! I will be bored stiff though.

[AndyC]

.
When I ask my wife if she wants to go orienteering she says "I don't really want to orienteer, and I don't want to sit in a car in a field in the middle of bloody nowhere".

My wife who does orienteer (not as much as me and often takes considerably less time than I do on a course) is happy to sit in a car "in the middle of nowhere" as long as she can do some birdwatching -could such an activity be a solution?

[King Penguin]

I think rebbid was imagining what it might mean doing to Roger.

Jethro tickets - does he like watching sheep lambing ?

[madmike]

My wife who does orienteer (not as much as me and often takes considerably less time than I do on a course) is happy to sit in a car "in the middle of nowhere" as long as she can do some birdwatching -could such an activity be a solution?

That's really familiar Andy - Open University is one I would recommend you encourage. My other half will sit happily in the car whilst I'm taking 3-4 hrs to get round a long course if she has an assignment due or an exam coming up

[SeanC]

Birdwatching? Surely all the birds will be scared away by the o suits and beards?

Studying? Not a bad idea but unfortunately my wife is currently doing some online studying thing for teaching.

Maybe we should have a non orienteers creche where they could all meet up and make friends whilst complaining that they would rather be somewhere else.

[madmike]

great idea but let's not call it a creche for the good of our collective health

[Mrs H]

The non-orieneering spouse (not that i have one) was one of the reasons I first invented EVO (Extra Value Orienteering) to try and incorporate something else into the outing which would make it a day out for everyone. I suggested that organisers should make sure they mentioned close by attractions in their publicity material and if nothing else every club should invest in a copy of the Yellow Book to see if there are any nearby gardens open etc, maybe it should also be a Good Beer Guide

[NFKleanne]

I love the sound of EVO. He wouldn't sit in the car while i did my wander in the woods. He wouldn't read as the children would annoy him and never be still enough to see any animals. Maybe I should leave him at home - at least I could have a decent day out!!!