Monday, June 11, 2012

What I Learned About My Marriage From Vacation...


Over the last week while on vacation, my husband and I realized we need to modify our future plans for vacation and retirement.
  • We toured a battleship in Wilmington, and my claustrophobia kicked in the second I touched the lower deck.  Now I know I will never go on a cruise.
  • Chlorine from the pool gave him a rash.  I didn't even stick my toe in the water - I don't like getting wet except in the shower.  Note to self to cross out the plans to get a pool.
  • We aren't driving compatible.  Not even close.  He wanted to get an RV when we retire and drive to see everything.  Hell no. 

Why I know we aren't driving compatible:
  • My husband doesn't like talking while I'm driving.  He drew a complete blank when I told him I needed him to talk to me.  Nothing for hours and hours.  He was in the front passenger seat - the job is to give directions and keep the driver awake, right?  He mostly dozed off and fiddled with his iPhone.
  • When my husband does chat during the trip, it's only when we're in hellish traffic about to die.  That's the moment he starts up a conversation about whatever.  I like absolute quiet while executing evasive maneuvers. 
  • After I finally got him to talk on a long boring stretch of road, he went into nerd mode and talked about satellite technologies or something.  Nerd talk makes me very sleepy.
  • To keep myself awake, I sang out loud. To Carly Simon, Bread, James Taylor, The Eagles, etc.  My husband doesn't know the words to any of the songs.  He kept on with the nerd talk while I sang.

Some nice things I realized about my husband:
  • My husband is adorable to children (see last post).
  • My husband really does listen to me whining about the housework - he did the laundry and dishes and even cooked dinner to give me a break and without being asked.  That's love.

Something he learned about me:
  • When I get stressed out, I misplace things...like the key to the new car.  Luckily we had a second key.  It's possible my little guy hid it because that's what he does, but I think it was me.

The bottom line:  We'll be married forever despite all this because we were able to laugh about it.  At least I was able to.  


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I'm going light on the blogging over the next week or two.  I need to finish my novel and start a new series and finish reading the beta copy of my CP's novel.   And do the laundry...too much laundry.

11 comments:

  1. My wife learned quickly - don't talk during heavy traffic except to agree with my complaints!
    Good luck with the writing, reading, and laundry.

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  2. Nice post about things we don't like to discover. Vacation can bring out the worst sometimes, or the best.

    Traffic is never enjoyable.

    Smart of you to know when to pull back a bit (on the blogging).

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  3. My DH and I drive to Fl every yeat and listen to audiobooks the entire trip. It's the only way for us.

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  4. Nothing like a little road tripping to teach you about your spouse, eh? :)

    Sarah Allen
    (my creative writing blog)

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  5. Laughter and a sense of humor are the key to happiness, in my opinion. If you've got that, you can make it through any road trip or vacation hell. :)

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  6. Is any couple driving compatible? I don't think so. lol Best on finishing up your novel. I agree with Brinda. Audio books are a godsend.

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  7. Lol! This just made my night. :-) Road trips are never easy. Awesome you see the good things too. Marriage is a kick!

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  8. I love that your husband cooks dinner, does the dishes, and even helps with the laundry! Jule

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  9. Thanks for all your great comments! I almost have the laundry done but not a word written. Tomorrow will be better.

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  10. road trips bring out the good the bad and the ugly!

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  11. Driving distances together can test a marriage. Glad you can laugh about it.

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