The Expert

They say it takes ten thousand hours
To become an expert at...something

Ten thousand hours
Which, if days had twenty hours
And let's say they do
Because it makes the math easier
Would equal five hundred days

So under two years
If you spent twenty hours a day
Doing nothing but absorbing yourself
In whatever it is
You want to become an expert in

Not bad

Let's say five years
Let's say you don't give your entire life to
Whatever it is
And instead
You just sort of...
I don't want to say dabble
But you know what I mean

Let's say you do something above dabbling

That's not so bad

Think--you could be an expert on any subject
In five years or less or a little more
Any subject
Isn't that fascinating?

Well, consider this--

I've spent double that amount of time
Focusing on you

I have given myself over
To total absorption
And--Wow, that's awful wording

But the thing is
I'm an expert on you

And, I gotta tell you
It's way better
Than being an expert
On, like, the Civil War
Or chess
Or stamps

I like that I can say--

'This is her favorite pair of shoes'

Or--

'This is her favorite movie to watch on a Sunday afternoon
While I vacuum around her
Because I'm the fussy one
In the relationship'

I like that I'm well over ten thousand hours
And even though I would wager that I am an expert

I am still nowhere near
Where I would like to be
When it comes to you

I want to be
Whatever's beyond expertise

Can we make that happen?

How long do you think that would take?