August 8, 2010
If familiarity breeds contempt, where does that leave me after 25 years of marriage? Pretty contemptible?
So, I strive to keep things fresh, to behave in unexpected ways, to be as unfamiliar as possible.
Take for instance the time I shaved my head. We were on a cruise. I knew it would grow back. I left the top long to cover the shaved part. I was hot, as in hot weather hot, as a physical education teacher. Okay, so Bill wasn’t that surprised. I had been talking about it for quite awhile and when I left for my hair appointment, he did say to me, “Don’t you dare!”
“Surprise!” How’s that for unfamiliar?
And there was the time I quit my job out of the blue. It was great timing, because he had just returned from a trip and the same day I quit my job, I also had a lovely visit from the local sheriff about my on-going feud with the neighbor. Despite Bill telling me to take the high road and to just last until the end of my contract…
“Surprise!”
I know when you read those magazines with advice about how to spice up your romance, I’m supposed to wear a new nightie or buy a new perfume and greet him at the door… well, I’m sure you’ve read those articles. Instead, I like to greet him on my cell phone, “What’s up Mother F *#@$%#$?” It’s cheaper and there’s no worry about the neighbors wondering if I have a new boyfriend.
So recently, while we were buying me a new cell phone, I surprised Bill by picking, get this, not the black one, but the purple one.
He gave me a look, like he wasn’t sure he knew me as well as he thought he knew me. I gave him a look back that said, “Yeah, watch out. You never know what crazy thing I might do next.”
So, here’s to keepin’ it fresh on a budget. This week I think I’ll surprise Bill by cooking dinner. I know, I’m wild. He’s so lucky!
This week I will keep my marriage fresh by acting in unexpected ways.
