Power Couples

By all means , marry.If you get a good wife , you’ll become happy; if you get a bad one , you’ll become a philosopher”. —Socrates

As I bounce around 92128 I am able to observe the relationships that long lived couples have created and it is often amusing, sometimes touching and aways interesting. It is amazing to me that these partnerships have stood the test of time , have adapted to life’s challenges and are ongoing after many decades. I don’t think they have flourished only because the participants have merely become as comfortable as your favorite tee shirt. They exist in a certain place that is uncomfortable as one or the other person is challenging, skeptical and even demanding. Husband- or wife- steps up to inspire and demand your best.-

Being a wife has many challenges. We know about the oppression of the patriarchy and as men we know what challenges we bring to the table. We are “husbands” and even this word has the sink of livestock management about it. Despite the pigeonholing and demeaning language, ” good wives” soldier on.

Every morning for the last seventeen years my wife and I have coffee before the day starts and we spend thirty minutes or more talking about life from the small issues of a particular day to the existential questions that don’t have answers. This is the highpoint of every day. These sessions are the bedrock of our relationship.

92128 couples in our circle seem the same …enjoying easy, deep and frequent communication. Their stories include tragedies of loss, economic setbacks and many of the shocks that flesh is heir to but their communication remains easy and direct. This is miraculous given our tendency too hide and loll in our own neuroses.

Its wonderful to have a person that knows all of your faults and doesn’t run from your shortcomings. It is equally satisfying to be the person who reciprocates. My wife doesn’t care for my exaggeration , fabulism and verbal storms but she corrects with humor pointing out the absurdity of my assertion that there were 200 crows flying over, when only 20 made the trip. I tell her Im an Irishman and that’s how we roll. I think she gets it.

what could be better than living with a person who has a whacky sense of humor? During today’s coffee I told her that she needed to embrace her mistakes. She got up walked across the room and gave me a big hug.

Perfect.