Bits and Pieces
12/05/17 07:50
Nancy, darling, you know I love you. Would you mind terribly if I asked that you not to eat food in my new car? I don't think I realized just how much she eats in the car. She's eating Kind bars one day and apples and peanut butter the next. I don't think I much cared when we were in her car and may have even asked that she take me to the nearest drive-thru so I could pick something up for myself. I'm also not usually overly fastidious about making sure that we have bags for trash, rags for spills, etc but all that has changed now that I have a new car. I'm all of a sudden hyper-sensitive to situations that that are routine in nature but alarmingly dire when it comes to exposing my car to actions that threaten to chip away at the veneer of perfection that my new car tends to exude. In spades, I might add.
I worry sometimes that my words embarrass her but I can't help myself. I am bad to the bone. And honestly, I can't tell half the time if she is ignoring me when I talk to her or simply humoring me by shuffling her snacks from one hand to another, putting them away until I am otherwise distracted, or looking out the window on her side of the car so I can't see the smirk forming on her face. Did you wash your hands, darling? You aren't going to eat THAT in my car, are you? Can you wait until we get home to eat that cheeseburger? There are days when I wish I had bought a used Volkswagen instead of an Audi. Not many, but there are days.
This business with the rug is driving me over the edge. We have a rug that needs to be replaced and Nancy has a problem with the "new rug" smell which probably has more to do with the glue they use to put the rug down. Believe me, this is one of those long overdue things that keeps me up at night. It's probably not an exaggeration to say that we probably have things living in our carpet that have gotten comfortable there over the years and have now raised generations of their offspring in what can only be considered "high cotton." It isn't pretty.
So we endure this squalor yet another year with the hopes that Nancy will relent or otherwise see her way to doing the right thing. We are beyond putting our health at risk. We are now endangering our mental health. It's doubtful we would come to blows over such a thing but the subtle ferocity of her resistance would no doubt win the day. I learned long ago that challenging her obsessions is something better left alone so I just don't. We opened the door ever so slightly this past week when we visited a place or two looking at new carpet. Whether or not we will ever make an actual purchase depends on Nancy. Spring is here so we can leave windows open while the smells gradually fades. Like I said, the door is open ever so slightly. Now all we have to do is walk through it. We can do it. Yes, we can. Maybe hardwood floors would be a better option.
Did I tell you that Nancy is looking at a part time schtick once her hospital gig ends this July? Yes, one closer to home with less money but also with less drive time and maybe even less pressure. She is not ready to retire or so she says. Not sure why she equates working with not being retired. They are mutually exclusive as you know. You can be retired and still work. Most people work because they need the extra income but that is not the case with Nancy. Not even close. She is accustomed to being out of the house a couple of days a week and I suppose that is a tradition that suits her for one reason or another. I suppose if we were world travelers she might think twice about her plans to do this but we are not so there you have it. You work all your life so you can finally take that part time job when you no longer have to work? It is a bit harebrained but who am I to question her decisions. A man encourages his wife to do as she pleases or should if he is of sound mind. I tell her that if it is her intention to simply get out of the house she is perhaps better off doing something she likes and that may mean taking a volunteering schtick instead of a paid schtick. We still have a couple of months to see how this plays out so stay tuned.
I worry sometimes that my words embarrass her but I can't help myself. I am bad to the bone. And honestly, I can't tell half the time if she is ignoring me when I talk to her or simply humoring me by shuffling her snacks from one hand to another, putting them away until I am otherwise distracted, or looking out the window on her side of the car so I can't see the smirk forming on her face. Did you wash your hands, darling? You aren't going to eat THAT in my car, are you? Can you wait until we get home to eat that cheeseburger? There are days when I wish I had bought a used Volkswagen instead of an Audi. Not many, but there are days.
This business with the rug is driving me over the edge. We have a rug that needs to be replaced and Nancy has a problem with the "new rug" smell which probably has more to do with the glue they use to put the rug down. Believe me, this is one of those long overdue things that keeps me up at night. It's probably not an exaggeration to say that we probably have things living in our carpet that have gotten comfortable there over the years and have now raised generations of their offspring in what can only be considered "high cotton." It isn't pretty.
So we endure this squalor yet another year with the hopes that Nancy will relent or otherwise see her way to doing the right thing. We are beyond putting our health at risk. We are now endangering our mental health. It's doubtful we would come to blows over such a thing but the subtle ferocity of her resistance would no doubt win the day. I learned long ago that challenging her obsessions is something better left alone so I just don't. We opened the door ever so slightly this past week when we visited a place or two looking at new carpet. Whether or not we will ever make an actual purchase depends on Nancy. Spring is here so we can leave windows open while the smells gradually fades. Like I said, the door is open ever so slightly. Now all we have to do is walk through it. We can do it. Yes, we can. Maybe hardwood floors would be a better option.
Did I tell you that Nancy is looking at a part time schtick once her hospital gig ends this July? Yes, one closer to home with less money but also with less drive time and maybe even less pressure. She is not ready to retire or so she says. Not sure why she equates working with not being retired. They are mutually exclusive as you know. You can be retired and still work. Most people work because they need the extra income but that is not the case with Nancy. Not even close. She is accustomed to being out of the house a couple of days a week and I suppose that is a tradition that suits her for one reason or another. I suppose if we were world travelers she might think twice about her plans to do this but we are not so there you have it. You work all your life so you can finally take that part time job when you no longer have to work? It is a bit harebrained but who am I to question her decisions. A man encourages his wife to do as she pleases or should if he is of sound mind. I tell her that if it is her intention to simply get out of the house she is perhaps better off doing something she likes and that may mean taking a volunteering schtick instead of a paid schtick. We still have a couple of months to see how this plays out so stay tuned.