Cohabitation: "...the silent phase?"

Real conversation with my dad a few months ago:

Dad: "Have you gotten to the silent phase yet?"
Me: "The silent phase?"
Dad: "Yeah, the silent phase," he says, "of your relationship, where you kind of coexist without speaking."
Me. "Oh. Um, I don't think so. Is that good?"

So, we've passed the one-year mark on living together. Now we're about four months into married cohabitation. And I think we've made it without getting to too much of an extreme "silent phase." Here are some real-life Tuesday kind of updates for you:

• I still have not mastered the shower lever. But my hubby still seems to have issues with aim when it comes to the hamper, and I hate dirty socks and T-shirts on the floor. See my earlier post about "lessons."
  
• The battle against dog hair is not one that a person can win when she lives with a 75-lb. black lab.
• The honey-do list is a real thing. And I thought men were always over-reacting about those! Ours is long, and we are entering phase II of do-it-yourself-ville. Upcoming projects include: whipping up some closet space; removing 70s-style, knotty-pine, yucky paneled built-ins; new countertops and painting kitchen cabinets. Ugh.
  
• When we were dating, I would always groan when Patrick said, "I have to mow the yard." It seemed like he was ALWAYS mowing the damn thing. Now, in this rainy summer, we kind of argue about which one of us GETS to mow the grass (a.k.a. spend about 2 hours alone, doing a mindless task during which no one can speak to you or interrupt you, listening to good radio on the noise-canceling headphones). Who knew!? Maybe this is the precursor to the silent phase?

So, we're not in the silent phase, but we do peacefully coexist without much effort. Sometimes that means spending a few hours in silence. Hey, peace and quiet is OK with me.