maybe this is completely off base and given my track record i'm probably the least qualified to comment, but... that is some dangerous ground you're treading i think, with more potentential negative outcomes than positive.
we know what you meant to say tom "my wife is awesome and runs this cool gallery, she works hard and pours her heart and soul into it, i'm so proud of her, check it out (link), and don't be afraid to leave some feedback."
but we all know the female ear is much more finely tuned than our's, and this is what she may hear:
'she's feeling inadequate' (try 'our online marketing is not as succesful as we would like'). 'it's just a local business' (try 'she is a tireless entrepeneur in our community'). 'help get that number up for her, i'd appreciate it' (try check out her site and let her know what you think of her work'). and danger will robinson 'i won't tell her i requested this' (uh, there's no good way to spin that one, you guys are married, she should be the first person you tell everything and the only person you tell some things).
a little analogy: you two are getting ready to go to a dinner party and she asks you the proverbial 'does this dress make me look big'? doesn't matter if it does or not, she's just cueing you that she needs your attention. when you get to the party you whisper to all your friends 'tell my wife she looks great tonight, she's feeling a little down.' so your wife walks around all evening just beaming from all the compliments feeling like a princess. then two weeks later one of the guys slips up when his wife is hounding him how a particular dress looks on her and he makes a crack like 'what, do i need to get my friends to tell you you look nice?' and then it all comes tumbling out of the closet. it doesn't matter that your wife really did rock that dress, she will only question why you made her the butt of the joke that evening with the whole forced compliment routine, and will probably not wear that dress ever again. but she will keep it in the wardrobe and pull it out and glare at it whenever she is mad at you.
everybody likes to feel appreciated, nobody likes questioning if the compliments were real.
if i were you i would immediately run down to city center and get her a big bouquet of flowers and some expensive chocolate and tell her the whole story before she figures it out on her own. no wait, after the chocolate i'd do a few things around the house for her and the take her out for lunch at a really nice place. then a slow walk through the fall leaves, preferably somewhere in public. then i'd tell her. hopefully there will be enough people around that she is less inclined to slap you and start crying. maybe she will calm down some by the time you get home. maybe.
you said so yourself, she is a smart lady, she will find out where the surge of new likes came from, better just take the bull by the horns and get it over with.
perhaps some of the female tsptalkers could shed a little light on this subject.
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