Spoons and Fish and Trophies!

I should warn you now, that I am not sure where this post is going to go! I have been spending a lot of time with my husband this summer and I have been noticing some interesting things.

First, spoons. In the drawer in my kitchen where we keep the silverware, there is a silent battle of spoons going on. You see, I believe this drawer works best a certain way. There is only enough slots for the regular size flatware, and so I put the larger serving size spoons behind the slotted organizer. This works for me, and when I cook, I want it that way.

Now, my sweetie for some unknown reason, likes to put the spoons on the side of the organizer, where they get jammed in and hard to pull out. When I go to get a spoon and find those he has placed on the side, I pull them out and put them in the back! And then the next time I go to get a spoon, guess where they are? You got it, back on the side. The funny thing is, I think this is quite hilarious. Neither of us ever mentions the "spoon issue." We just quietly wage the next battle. We each chalk up a point on our side of the Male vs Female scorecard and move on!

Today I was reorganizing my office. I like to think of this as my office because I work from home and that's where I work. However, my partner rightfully believes it is his office as well. In truth it started out that way, and his computer and files are also in there. Recently, I bought a new chair and huge bookcase for the office. My daughter came over and we spent four hours assembling the bookcase. The bookcase is so tall that I needed to take down a couple of pictures, and move my husband's prized stuffed bass.

While I was reorganizing, I put my beautifully framed degrees from two well know universities atop the bookcase, along with my Martha Beck Master Coach award. I asked my spouse where we should rehang the stuffed bass. I thought it would look good high up on the vaulted wall across from his other prized possession, his father's huge rack of deer horns. Then my love informed me that the bass needed to be down on the wall, because after all, why would he have a plaque attached showing how large this fish was, if people couldn't read it. We looked around and found a spot that showed this off well.

What I love about all this is the joy I find in embracing the differences between us. How many times in the past did I want to make my partner think like I did? Or wanted him to understand me! Now I realize that it is an honor to have a partner who is just who he is, and who accepts me for just who I am (well except maybe for the spoons)!

I'd love to hear how things work in your household!

Marquita