y birds and I like to spend time on our screened patio. They play on their hanging perches while I read. The light breezes gently swing them and stimulate talking. As a general rule, birds only speak when they are content. An unhappy bird is a quiet bird.

Our Red Fronted Macaw, Ace, chatters away when he is on the patio. He is often much more entertaining than the book I happen to be reading at the time.

He likes to focus his attention on our Blue and Gold Macaw, Pepper. They share a play gym, so he has easy access to her. He climbs up next to her, and gets in her face. Often, they are beak to beak. He makes no bones about his feelings for her. One of Ace’s typical conversations might go as follows:

“Hi, big girl. C’mere. Gimme a kiss. C’mon. Pretty, pretty girl.” He tells her she’s pretty so many times; I’m unconvinced of his sincerity.

By this time, Pepper is sometimes annoyed that Ace is in her personal space and gives him a warning tap with her beak. Since Ace is such a determined little guy, this usually doesn’t deter him. He just laughs, then continues his amorous dialogue with her until she either gives up and allows him to continue, or backs off with a stern nip. The latter always elicits a screech from Ace. It’s at this point that he will take the hint and leave her alone, at least for awhile.

This interaction between them prompts me to think about interactions between human couples, and between my husband and me in particular. We share a wonderful, Christ-centered marriage; but it’s not perfect. There are times when the day-to-day drudgery wears on us.

Sometimes we are out of balance. He may be feeling particularly affectionate or complimentary one day, and I am just not in the mood to receive it. Instead of thanking him and telling him I appreciate him, I may “nip” at him with a thoughtless retort. He doesn’t get a free pass here, though. He has his times as well when he just isn’t in the receiving mood.

Just as Ace does, we have both learned to back off and try again another time. Everyone likes to hear kind words from their spouse, but few of us like to be smothered with dishonest flattery. Personally, I would rather my husband remain silent than tell me the burned pot roast was delicious.

Even true compliments and affection should come at the appropriate time and place. After a trying day, a weary spouse may not be in the mood to hear insincere “flatter chatter.”

Proverbs 26:11 could be applied here. Paraphrased, it states that a fool repeats his folly like a dog returns to his vomit. I’m working on reading my husband’s receiving moods so that my actions are not folly. In the meantime, Ace can entertain me while he courts Pepper.