2002-11-29 - 9:39 a.m.
WHY I SHOULD NOT DIVORCE
Although I feel blessed, I do a poor job of writing entries speaking of all my blessings. I distrust easy sentiment (which is another way of saying that I hate the entries where I turn my warm, fuzzy feelings into loose, boring language that goes on and on.) I�m a practical girl with a practical turn of phrase. So, in that spirit, while I�m feeling kindly toward my husband and my life, I thought I would make a list for use on the bad days. So, just in case Mr. Philately lands in the doghouse sometime soon, here is the list of the reasons I should not divorce him.
I should not divorce Mr. Philately because we agreed long ago that whoever asked for the divorce has to take custody of the children. I love my children but we are only through the first day of a four-day weekend. No one questions their love for each other but their like for each other is wearing a bit thin. Worse, at some point, Kat will need help studying for her geometry test. He has tremendous patience when she gets all prickly when she does not understand. I consider child abuse. If Mr. Philately were not around, perhaps I�d end up in prison. I visit prisons often enough to know I don�t want to live there.
I should not divorce Mr. Philately because I like a good cup of decaf coffee. I�ve been up first the past two days and I�ve been impatient. If I ever had any doubt about it before, the doubts have been resolved. My coffee stinks. Well, it doesn�t actually stink but it sure tastes terrible. This morning, I�m drinking the better coffee I made. The best that can be said for it is that it does not have grounds in it as the coffee I made yesterday did. Mr. Philately�s coffee goes down smoothly. I choke mine down.
I should not divorce Mr. Philately because he�s cute. Describing him to you won�t necessarily convey this concept so you�ll just have to take my word for it. As much as any thin, six foot one or two inch man can be, he�s cute (and I could get lost in those gray-blue eyes but this journal is not the kind of place that would lead me to say more.)
I should not divorce Mr. Philately because he is the sort of man who will not just flop down on a couch and expect service (which is particularly good because I am not the sort of woman who is inclined to give it.) If I�m making apple muffins, he will offer to peel apples. If I�m working on laundry, he�ll bring up the basket and join in the folding. (In exchange, I often will help with �his� chores too�at least the ones that were not assigned to him on the basis of height.)
I should not divorce Mr. Philately because it would be expensive. In two years, Kat will be in college and we are facing large enough bills as it is. We�re both lawyers. We know how expensive hiring lawyers can be. Running two households is more expensive than running one. No, I�m sorry. We just can�t afford divorce.
But most of all, I should not divorce Mr. Philately because I�m still madly in love with the guy. After knowing him for almost 22 years and being married to him for close to 18 (our anniversary is sometime the last week of this month and maybe this year I�ll remember the exact date�if I�m lucky), I�m still drawn to him in a room. I want to sit next to him, most of the time. I like to listen to him and have him listen to me. He still surprises me and delights me. He even lets me win at Scrabble once every five years or so.
And the next time I get really annoyed because his stamps are on my bed or he�s being really stubborn, I�ll get out this entry and remind myself why I should not divorce Mr. Philately.
LAST YEAR: Making Mistakes
LAST FIVE ENTRIES:
Turkey for One?
An Urge to Reboot the Helpless Guy
Whistling in Chinese Restaurants
Veteran of the Calculus Wars
Tossed Out
Not Strictly Kosher
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Copyright 2006 by Ellen |
