From Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop…Write about something you are better at than your spouse.

Wow.  If ever there was a proverbial loaded gun in a writing prompt, this is it!

It all started with Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.  Remember that book, written way back in 1992 by John Gray and how it focused on how each sex is acclimated to its own planet’s society and customs, but not to those of the other?

I have a copy.  I refer to it, often.  Sometimes, I just want to throw the book at The Husband.

What…am I better at than my spouse?  Something?  Just one thing?  You must be kidding me!

For starters, I am…more organized than he.  The fact that, each and every time, when he cannot…find his glasses, his phone, the remote, his car keys, socks, underwear…I am in front of him approximately three seconds after his outburst, holding any, maybe all, of the above.

I put thoughts together more quickly than The Husband.  Any time he starts a conversation with “Remember that cranky guy who came into our business?”, I give him a name, date, description of what cranky guy wore on that day and what he purchased.

Here’s a BIG one…driving.   Car rides are always a test of patience.  And, from my “riding shotgun” side, a test of survival.  The Husband has a need to always adjust everything in the car… mirrors, volume, seat (okay, I’m short and he’s not so he has to move the seat back so his knees don’t hit the dashboard)…in any event, when he makes these adjustments, while driving, he tends to swerve.  I yell, he yells.  He drives faster than the speed limit because my car has front and rear laser radar detection.  He speeds, I yell.  He yells back.

And one more…cooking.  I am a pretty decent chef in my own right.  The Husband does not cook.  Ever.  Well, he did once, a long time ago.  He made an entire box of Uncle Ben’s rice.  A 2 lb. box.  20 servings.  He has since been banned from the kitchen.

Last one.  Answering questions from our Grandkids.  When The Husband is comfortable with a given topic thrown out by one of the kids, there is no holding him back.  Or shutting him up.  Now and then, he’ll lapse into a blank stare, trying desperately to come up with an answer but I can see he’s like a drowning rat on a sinking ship.  He gives me a knowing, pleading, look and, of course,  Grandma always saves the day!

Yes, indeed.  Men and women are from different planets and can spend a lifetime together, never working out all which makes them unique in their relationship.  It can be difficult, consuming and downright exhausting.  But, as John Gray quoted…“Fortunately perfection is not a requirement for creating great relationships.”