What do you mean?

In my opinion, listening is a skill that we will always both be working on in our marriage. I know I'm guilty of getting distracted and not devoting my entire attention to Rick and what he's saying.

Usually, I try to hide it by just pretending I've heard what he's said, then later, if it comes up, I must either admit I wasn't listening or claim that he never told me that in the first place.

He's guilty too. Lately, I've noticed a new tactic. Instead of saying "What?" when he's not listening, he says, "What do you mean?" But, it's not working out so well.

For example, today, I said, "I think we should turn this into a playroom." Rick said, "What do you mean?" My response was, "I mean, I think we should turn this into a playroom. Really, what else might that mean?"

Maybe we should quit pretending and just say, "Sorry. I wasn't listening. Please repeat."