I was having coffee with my husband the other morning. It was the morning of our 15th wedding anniversary. Fifteen years already? I couldn't wrap my mind around it. It was a startling realization that all that time had passed, considering I still feel as though I am in my early twenties. We got to talking about the first day he moved in. He showed up with all his life’s belongings in two boxes and one garment bag. You should have seen the look on my face. I mean, this man was organized. Everything was packed neatly and his clothes were on hangers and in a garment bag. I had never seen anything like it. I had grown up with two rambunctious brothers and believe me when I tell you that the age-old question "Were you raised in a barn?" may just of been invented by my mother.
So, I found it quite endearing (we were just newlyweds after all) that my husband was so neat and tidy. Not only was he not going to make a mess in my house, he sealed the deal with the fact that he did not even use up his half of the closest space I had saved for him. A man after a woman's heart. The rest is history or so they say, but in our case "opposites attract" seemed more fitting.
To give you an idea of how we both approached the idea of living together, I'd like to compare our different attitudes to a few well-known Adam Sandler movies. I was the sort of a "Just Go with It" kind-of-gal and my husband was more of a "Don't Mess With The Zohan" kind-of-guy. We were and still are complete polar opposites. For the 15 years we have been married this has pretty much stayed the same.
That morning, as we had coffee, we had to laugh about it. I still am the kind of gal who worries about the dishes AFTER the guests leave and he is still the kind of guy who doesn't simply put things down. He puts them back where they are supposed to be. This has worked for years and as we get older we realized that opposites attract for a reason. We enjoy seeing in someone else the exact opposite approach we wouldn't take to a situation. Neither way is "right". They are both good approaches to life and work well in different situations.
After 15 years we have learned that people generally don't change. You get what you signed up for. Opposites attract for a reason. They compliment each other and bring about a sort of balance to life.
So the next time you look across the table and see your loved one, whether it be your husband, wife, friend or family member doing something that drives you crazy, remember, maybe your way or the highway isn't the answer. Sometimes looking at something from a completely different view can provide a fresh way of looking at it.
