Conversation the key to happiness?

I worked out the other day that my partner and I hardly ever have proper conversations anymore.  Between full-time jobs, keeping fit and relaxing in front of the TV, we probably have about half an hour of meaningful conversation in a week.  By this I mean really listening and talking and not merely saying by rote "how was your day?", "did you put the recycling out" or "what programme shall we watch?"

The other night, he came home from a double spin class [double, I ask you!?] and the first thing he said to me was "the mayonnaise shouldn't be put in the fridge door" and the second was "did you buy ricecakes"?  We ended up having a heated argument, which culminated in me shouting "there's more to life than mayonnaise and I don't give a monkeys where the ****ing mayonnaise lives in the fridge".

Suffice to say last night we ate a candlelit dinner at the table,  and had some quality conversation.  We're going to try and do this at least once a week from now on.

With our new regime in place I was tickled to see this article in the New York times which says:

"substantive conversation seems to hold the key to happiness for two main reasons: both because human beings are driven to find and create meaning in their lives, and because we are social animals who want and need to connect with other people.

“By engaging in meaningful conversations, we manage to impose meaning on an otherwise pretty chaotic world,” Dr. Mehl said. “And interpersonally, as you find this meaning, you bond with your interactive partner, and we know that interpersonal connection and integration is a core fundamental foundation of happiness.”

Photo courtesy of Flickr.com - creative commons - Rishi Menon