Thursday, May 11, 2006

The Secret to Marital Bliss

My husband is perfect for me. He thinks I'm nuts for believing this. But he gets my warped humor, and he makes me laugh.

Before I landed The Best Job Ever, I had gone to work for a sister company to his place of employment. He and my then boss are well acquainted and are always trying to outwit each other.

This is the conversation between my boss and me my third day on the job:

Mr. C: "Ask your husband what the answer to my question was."

Me, looking puzzled: "What was the question?" (I thought maybe he had forgotten the answer and wanted me to call hubs and ask him again.)

Mr. C: "Just ask him what his answer was."

Me, shrugging: "OK."

Mr. C: "I asked him how in the world he got you to marry him."

Me, suspiciously: "Did he tell you I'm retarded?"

Mr. C, surprised: "Um, yeah, well I think his exact words were 'She's mildly retarded.'"

Now, people, I don't know which is funnier - the fact that he actually told my boss that, or the fact that I guessed what his answer had been. Either way, I still laugh when I think about it.


More recently, Hubs and I had been cranky with each other for over a week, though neither of us really knew why. Not really fighting, just generally disagreeable. Irritable. You know.

Finally, when he could no longer stand the tension, he came over, planted a kiss on my forehead, and said ever-so-sweetly "I'm sorry you're so bitchy lately."

I'm not sure what he thought I would say, or even what I wanted to say, but what I actually said was "I accept your apology."

Then we both burst out laughing.

No, the secret isn't sarcasm. It's laughter. Laugh with each other and at yourselves, but not at each other (which is only ok in cases of stupidity-on-purpose.)

6 comments:

Barb said...

The 'I'm sorry you're so bitchy" remark cracked me up, Brenda. How like a man! Funny, funny. I'm glad you two got over your crankies though!

Diane Viere said...

And the longer we are married....the more certain your truth is! A smile.....a good belly laugh...and shared moments of joy--will always bond us together!

:) Diane

Brenda said...

We had our honeymoon in March on our 2nd anniversary, and it just went downhill from there. Neither of us is capable of being serious for any length of time, so our weeks-long spat seemed to confirm that "the honeymoon indeed is over."
I'm happy to say that is not the case. Rather, it served as a reminder to take our vows seriously - not each other. We plan to honeymoon as long as we both shall live.

Diane@Diane's Place said...

Demon Blogger wouldn't let me post earlier when I was here. :-(

Glad things are better now, Brenda. I have been married (to the same man!) for 20 years, and I can say from experience that marriage goes through cycles. Hope it just keeps getting better for you. :-)

Barb said...

Hello Brenda! This is way off the subject of your post but I'm using this forum to tell you something. (Hint: you should put your email link in your profile - then we could chat privately :-)

I went back just a little ways in Rocking Chairs and Rainbows and read enough to be intrigued. I could see there's a story here and it seems to be a story of struggle after struggle. So I went back to the very beginning and read everything you've posted. Remarkable what you've been through, what you're going through right now. Huge upheavals in your life. But I like your approach to it all, putting it in God's hands.

Your girls are at a difficult age and the circumstances you're all dealing with don't make it any easier. I'm staying with you and your posts to see how things evolve. And I'm praying for all of ya'll. I have a gut feeling there's going to be a happy ending here because you've put it all in the right hands.

xoxoxo

Brenda said...

Barb - thanks for the hint. I didn't realize my profile was missing my email link.

Your prayers and words of encouragement mean so much.
God bless you!

xoxoxo