Differences - why they matter

Yesterday I read a blog post “You marry whom you marry” and it got my gears turning (which typically scare my husband when they do that). So my brilliant plan was to go home, eat dinner, and talk with my husband about how we are who we are, how we differ from one another, and how our differences benefit each other. This was a task easier said than done because in my head I had it all played out how it was going to work and my husband was doing it different than how it was suppose to go (this is a problem I come across a lot). I was taking it seriously and he was being silly with it. One of his first comparisons were that I was ALWAYS right and he was ALWAYS wrong – I thought that was preposterous. I was not ALWAYS right but I’m right if he can’t prove that I’m wrong – just cause he can’t come up with a reason that I’m wrong does not mean that he is ALWAYS wrong. Although this conversation was not going how I pictured it, it was kinda comical when Mark demonstrated my temper tantrum I threw a few weeks ago when he wouldn’t listen to me (difference was I am always so serious and he is not). The discussion ended shortly after it began(my husband does not like to discuss things and I do) so I gave it up but not without ending it with “Fine, I’ll figure our differences out ALL BY MYSELF and write them down and you will just have to read them.” And so the list begins…

I’m young – He’s old(er)
He has a lot of life experience he can teach me and I keep him young and entertained.

I’m a planner – He’s a “fly by the seat of your pants”
If we were both planners we would never have any fun. While I keep us grounded and have our future in mind (and on paper) he helps when my plans don’t work and shows me that everything is going to be OK.

I hate politics – He loves them
I guess one person has to know what is going on in the world around them – and since he already had that job before I came into the picture I don’t have to do it. He keeps me informed on any drastic political moves and I inform him that he is taking it WAY over the top and needs to tone it down a little and bring him back into the middle and not so much on the Right wing (a term I would have never known without him).

I’m serious – He’s “fun”
Where kids are involved, he likes to be the fun dad and eat potato chips for lunch (not really) and I like to make sure they are fed on time, bathed on time, in bed on time, teeth brushed, hair combed etc. He is a VERY good dad and that is one thing I love the most about him.

We are different in a lot of other ways but we mesh very well too. I am the one harder to live with because I am so picky – I like certain order, I like things done the same way and my poor husband has to deal with my wrath when it’s not done right and of course he always manages to mess it up somehow, good thing he is so easy going. Perhaps that’s something I need to work on…helping him figure out how to do it the right way (I’m KIDDING..kinda).