Appreciate the Change.

Alarm on my phone rings as I hurry to turn it off so as not to wake my sleeping beauty only to realize that the TV is blaring with a scene from Gone with the Wind (recorded by my lovely). I slowly roll to find the remote and shut it off. See these days my wife lacks sleep, it has, just a little bit to do with the way my snore sounds like a fog horn in the dark night. Knowing this I slowly slide out of bed in a way that only a contortionist can understand. As my phalanges finally touch the cold tile floor I slowly make my way to the bathroom. In my slow somber walk I begin to wipe the mucopurulent discharge from my eyes with one hand while I pick the boxers out of my posterior only to realize I am walking over pajamas. My eyes open wide and I begin to fire off questions like did I drink last night and can't remember what happened as to why all of my wifes clothing landed on the ground. Could a midnight romp be the culprit?  I quickly rule this out because lets face it I'm 40 and I left those nights long ago back in my 20's. Rapid flurry of answers flow in as I analyze the articles that were thrown across the room in a desperate attempt to shed clothing rapidly. I can only wonder how this can be possible when the room temperature is cold enough to hang meat. In what seems like long strung out minutes it really only takes a fraction of a second for me to realize what my wife is dealing with.

See in understanding the differences withing a man and woman one must reach a level of enlightenment that can only come after living with your beloved for a minimum of 15 years. As I reach the 20 year mark I feel as James Bond does in using my perception to calculate the next move before my opponent. So many years I have developed these Jason Bourne techniques so I wouldn't end up like Kenny after another episode of South Park. Although these changes women go through seem to affect them quite severely, its the changes in me that give me the opportunity to better understand how my changes as a husband will go. See you first conquer your prize when you slip a ring on her finger which forces you to change, then the kids will force another change that leaves you with nothing but change in your pocket and now age has a way to make you appreciate the change. My appreciation to her change is within. It comes with knowing that this young flower I met 20 years ago has blossomed into this massive garden that can only be appreciated up close. See without her in the middle like the sun's role, we seem to shift off course yet like gravity she grounds us very much to the importance of planting flowers and vegetables every spring, keeping a clean house, waking up to bacon and eggs, hearing your name called for lunch and smelling dinner on the stove for later but always sitting together as she insists we do, so that we can cherish the memories during the days we can't.

So her changes affect me but I like the effect of these changes have on me. So what if the temperature at my house changes so fast it gives me a whiplash. I am thankful for it. I am only reminded of the good things that come from knowing her better as I hold her hand through this, as I did many years ago when I asked her to never let go and hold tight, even tighter through the tough times as she did with me when I asked her to walk with me for the rest of my life !