"I am learning new communication skills and trying to emply employ them, but can use your feedback as we progress through this"
Sorry, misspelled "employ" in that sentence.
And BTW, I was the prototypical "guy" listener to my wife. I never validated her at all, and I shut down whenever she "nagged" me (I see now she wasn't nagging, she was trying to communicate). I've employed validation techniques with her for months now and it has dramatically improved our communications. She said she used to feel like she was walking on eggshells all the time and now she feels "relaxed" around me. It is NOT easy at first. But once you start doing it and see how much things improve, then you realize how important it is and it gets easier.
