Mr. Philately and I always manage the big stuff with aplomb. It�s the little stuff that can trip us up. Like timing, for example. Mr. Philately and I never seem to get our timing quite right.

We had this problem right from the beginning. He claimed he would never get married. I didn�t like that timetable. I wasn�t willing to settle for never. He adapted on that one. Of course, it required an explanation that it was my way or not at all (and I wonder why people say I�m bossy.)

More recently, our timing has been off on our choice of habitat. Five years ago, I desperately wanted to move so that the kids and I were not always on top of each other. Five years ago, the problem with every house I found seemed to be that it was not Mr. Philately�s home. Now, I figure it will only be a few years before they are gone and I don�t want more rooms to clean or a new mortgage to pay off. Now, he would like to have more space to get away from teenagers. Never underestimate inertia though. It was on his side before and its on my side now.

Even our daily lives are plagued by bad timing. He likes to stay up past midnight and sleep late in the morning. I want to be in bed by 9:30 (a.m. some days) and I consider it a great feat if I don�t wake until 7:30 a.m. When his office was closer to mine, we found it worked well to meet for lunch. We were both alert then. We really have to start doing it more often. Our offices are not so far away.

Still, I can think of no one I�d rather spend my time with than Mr. Philately. Our timing may be off but he�s a good time.

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