It's not as harsh as it sounds(I hope). I work construction in NYC so I'm up at 430 am to go to work and don't come home til 4 or 5 pm. During that time I'm exposed to all kinds of construction dirt and debris, sheetrock dust, fiberglass insulation, silica from drilling concrete, etc. 

So when I come home after being on my feet all day, I just want to get out my dirty clothes and take a shower so I can sit and relax for a little bit before we do whatever it is we have planned for the evening, if anything. I don't want to track anything into the house that I brought home with/on me. It's not that I don't want to hear what my wife is saying, I just don't want to have to stand there in dirty clothes to do it.
Before you ask, yes...I have told her this. But if I tell her regularly (which I sometimes do), she says " ok, well let me just tell you this first", or just tells me I'm always crabby when I come home.
Am I the asshole?