Brandon and I got married 9 1/2 years ago. It sounds a lot longer than it feels, I promise. And since we didn’t live together before the big day, we had a lot to learn about each other’s habits when he moved in with me. For starters, let me preface…marriage is a great thing. Moving in together is an eye-opening thing. And love covers a multitude of wrongs.
I’ll admit I’m a little “particular” about things. Don’t write on my calendar, don’t mess with my organized stuff, and don’t load the dishwasher because I’m going to go behind you and re-load it my way. But even I didn’t realize just HOW set in my ways I was until I started living with this man I called my husband. He was my best friend, my partner in crime, and certainly one whom could do no wrong, until it happened… the microwave.
While nuking some hot pockets for dinner one night (don’t all young marrieds have hot pockets for dinner?), Brandon heard the little cheesy sandwiches of goodness popping and hissing, so he quickly pulled open the microwave door and realized that oozing cheese was enough to show those puppies were DONE. Time to eat! Or better yet, wait 10 minutes or risk scorching your tongues and never tasting again. What I came to realize when I later walked back into the kitchen is the numbers on the microwave. He hadn’t cleared it. It struck a chord in me that chimed loudly and I have no idea why to be frank. I quickly punched clear and the time popped back up on the screen. Whew, that was a close one. But I had survived.
But I realized this wasn’t a one-time incident. This was real life. Every. Time. He. Microwaved. What was I to do? How could my mild (or not so mild) OCD brain cope? Well, I began to realize that I actually did things that irked him too? GASP. I know, I know, how could it be?
It’s just life. We are going to get in each other’s way. We are going to irritate some part of the other person’s METHOD of doing things. We are going to load the dishwasher differently, throw wet towels on the bathroom floor, forget to start the dryer… And you know what happens? Life still goes on. We take a breath and realize there are FAR better things to focus on. The half-second it takes for me to clear the microwave – instead of cursing him silently in my head, I could thank the Lord for him and for the fact that he is in my life, microwaving things for me.
Lemons into lemonade? Well, to get lemonade you GOTTA ADD SUGAR. So, realizing that the things you think aren’t blessings, well sometimes they are. They can be. It’s mostly about your perspective. And I for one would far prefer seeing numbers on the microwave and him being around (even if he is actually trying his darnedest to irritate me) than seeing the correct time displayed and him not being there. So, heck yeah if you pull that popcorn out because you don’t hear pops anymore, but that popcorn button got it wrong and there are 12 seconds remaining. You’ll live, you’ll eat popcorn together, and you’ll be darn happy about it (if you choose to)!
