He has me trained

Several times since we’ve gotten married, Brett and I have been asked if I have him trained yet. Trained for what? The Olympics?

Without realizing it, the asker is implying that I didn’t like Brett the way he was when I married him, but married him anyway with the hope that I could make him change. What sane person gets married for that reason? As Brett answered one such asker, I already liked the way he did things, that’s why I married him!

But there has been some training going on. In fact, he had me trained before we even got married.

Brett is always a gentleman, in so many ways. One way is that every time we go somewhere he opens the car door for me, both when we get in and when we get out. It’s so regular that he’s trained me to wait for him to do that. In fact, he’s trained me so well that no matter who I’m in the car with, I wait for them to open my door for me now. Which is a little weird when I go out with other people. When I realize what I’m doing I try to make it look like I was gathering my stuff before getting out. I’m pretty sure none of my friends realize the problem they cause in my mind when they don’t open my door. So that’s something. But it makes me laugh.

I used this as an example of classical conditioning in my class today. I generalize the stimulus of being in the passenger seat no matter who is driving. I do get my own door when I’m driving though. I have stimulus discrimination on that at least.

I wonder what else he’ll train me to do over the years.