When Adam and I first got together in college, everyone thought it was an odd pairing. Very few people thought it was a match that made much sense, and even fewer thought it would last very long.
It's been nearly fifteen years now. Which, I guess, in the grand scheme of the age of the planet, isn't very long. Still, I think it's a lot longer than most people thought we'd last, back in the early days when our relationship garnered more strange looks than we expected.
I'll admit, I do have days when I call my best friend and open the conversation with "so, I love my husband...but..."
And let the record show that she does exactly the same to me from time to time. Relax, husbands, not often. Just often enough to show that we're human.
For example, yesterday was Daylight Savings. The bane of parental existence everywhere. Especially with Halloween as a catalyst that threw off the weekend's sleep schedule. There was concern about how yesterday's wake up would go.
Now let the record show that Adam is usually the one to get up with any early risers (cough, Reagan). So really, I have no argument with how he chooses to handle things once he's decided the day begins. I get to stay snuggled in bed, at least until the children decide that isn't acceptable. However, I am of the mindset that if anyone is up exceptionally early, they are informed that it is still nighttime and walked back to bed.
Yesterday, they were up well before 6:00 am PRE TIME CHANGE. So, before 5:00 am according to our recently changed clocks. Definitely worthy of being walked gently back to bed.
Yet he chose to greet them happily and bring them downstairs for juice and Strawberry Shortcake on TV.
BEFORE THE CLOCK SHOWED FIVE FREAKING A. M.
His argument was that their little bodies didn't know any better. My argument was that their little bodies have to learn sometime and we don't reward waking far before the sun. I didn't care if their body clocks allowed them to go back to sleep, but I did care that it was treated as completely acceptable to be drinking apple juice and watching Strawberry Shortcake long before the sun was up. And, although they were happy when they woke up, I'd be dealing with dinnertime meltdowns.
We did not agree.
But we didn't fight about it. We just sort of shook our heads at each other. This is how we usually handle things. We disagree about certain things, but as our home goes, we keep things pretty harmonious.
Take that, college doubters.
But despite all this beautiful harmony, I'm somehow in a new book, titled Clash of the Couples and focusing on the most epic fights in what are otherwise happy relationships. Because when Adam and I do fight, we do it epically.
In this particular book, I share the little told story of how our engagement almost never happened. And whenever I mention that to people I know, their reaction is always WHAT????? I never heard that story!
Exactly.
Some stories need to be shared for the right moment. Clearly, some back synapse in my brain realized that in November of 2014, I'd have the opportunity to share an epic argument in an epic way - in print in a hilarious book. And I held this story in until that opportunity presented itself.
As of this morning, you can head on over to Amazon and order yourself a copy, either for your Kindle (or Kindle app on whatever technology you choose to read on) or even in hard copy if you're old school.
And remember that even the happiest relationships have some moments of epic explosion, and that the very best way to laugh about them is to put them in print.
Or so I hope...otherwise, I'll have another story waiting for volume two.
You can buy any of my books on Amazon - I've got an author page and quite a collection now! 2014 has indeed been a banner year!