 |
 |
A wonderful man is not your clone.
A wonderful man is someone who, despite the many similarities you two may share, is different from you. He ... behaves differently than you would in certain situations.
A wonderful man is revealed when you value those differences, [as] ... part of what makes him wonderful—when, rather than resenting those differences, you come to see just how much they contribute to your happiness.
Laurie and Jeff have been married 29 years, they have 3 children.
Laurie: One of the things I just love about Jeff is his attention to detail. .... it took me a while to realize that this is wonderful.
When we were first starting our life together, he said, "I don't like my socks folded with the cuff tucked down. Just fold them over, no tucking." I thought, 'OK, that's fine.' ... sometime after, Jeff says "So, Honey, why did you put my socks upside down?" I just started laughing, "I guess I didn't know what was right-side up" and he said, perfectly seriously, "The part that goes up your legs is right-side up."... That sounded so silly to me... And there's a lot of things like that... It could be very irritating. But as we've grown together, I've realized I adore this man. He pays attention to all the details, which I've learned protects me in so many different ways.
For example, one day his car broke down on the freeway... Fortunately, a co-worker was driving by... and stopped to give him a ride... Jeff called me when he got to work, told me what had happened, and said, "Honey, you're going to need to go to the car. It will be towed, so please take my golf clubs out of the back. But please don't park behind my car—be sure to park in front of it." Well, that doesn't make sense—isn't it easier to get the stuff transferred from his trunk to mine if I'm behind him? So I said, "Okay, but why?" And he said "You're going to need to pick up speed to get back onto the freeway, and you can't do that if you're parked behind my car." It's little things, details, that let me know he's always thinking about me, taking care of me, protecting me.
Day 3 of your "35 Days to a Wonderful Man"
Today you'll identify which of your differences you think are blessings, and which you decidedly label "curses." He is organized, always knows where everything is, and has a place for everything: Do you think of this as a blessing ("I can count on him to know where the stuff is that I always misplace") or as a curse ("Darn him, he's so organized; I look like a complete flake next to him")? His idea of culture is a country western concert: Blessing ("His world expands mine...") or curse ("Spending a night at this thumping, lovelorn excuse for music when we could be watching a good movie?!")?
© Noelle C. Nelson
|
|
|
