Little Things

 Relationships have their own little quirks. I just read a blog or a link from Facebook on little mundane parts of romantic relationships. It reminded me of a couple of choices my husband and I have made over the years that have inspired our friends and family to scratch their heads in wonder.

We wanted to buy a car that would fit our three kids and the minimum of three additional kids that typically tagged along. We piled ten of us (including 8 teenagers) into my Plymouth Satellite for a ride back home from town one afternoon. Thank God and Detroit for boats! We knew an investment in a larger vehicle needed to be made. By 'larger' I mean longer not wider! 

We always sat close to each other on our bench seats. When he drove his truck, I was smack dab next to him. When I drove the white boat, he was next to me, blocking the rear view mirror with his handsome head (Thank God and Detroit, again, this time for right side mirrors).

We choose a brand new Dodge Caravan. We searched for one with a bench seat in front. We drove everywhere looking for one on a lot. We'd done our research and knew they existed. We drove to the San Francisco bay area, south bay and east bay. We searched the lots in Sacramento and Stockton. Each salesman told us we were crazy and there was no such creature. In Redding, we found a salesperson who knew his stuff. He kept in touch with what was happening in the market. We ordered one through him.

Sadly, it didn't arrive soon enough for our vacation to Florida so we bought a Caravan off-the-lot from him. It was steel blue, just like I wanted. It had baby blue upholstery, just like I wanted. It had divided front seats. We loved it anyway. You could move back and forth, front to back. The dog could sit between us on the floor so we could still make goo-goo eyes at each other or steal kisses. We drove it, filled with kids, dogs and camping gear to a remote site on Shasta Lake. It was wonderful. We could still sit next to each other in our trucks!

We loved to spoon on the couch while watching tv or a movie. Problem was our sofa was so shallow that whoever was laying in front would spill off the couch. We decided to buy new furniture! We bought a wonderful sofa and love seat that was deep enough that we could spoon and a grandchild could lay in front, arms all around each other while we watched our favorite shows. The problem with that? Every adult who sat on our sofa sat with their legs straight out, like a small child. Even my 6' 5" son couldn't sit all the way back and touch the floor. We invested in about 1200 pillows to help people retain their dignity but finally gave the set away and joined the world of adults. We watch our favorites in bed! Our living room and family room furniture gives the appearance that mature beings live here....well, except for the Mickey Mouse castle, blocks, sponge letters and numbers and children's books spread about.

I have a bad (apparently) habit of bartering. My husband thinks I'm trying to make bargains all the time. I think I'm just working towards efficiency or to being together. Drive's Frank crazy.

I'll say, "Let's go in the kitchen. If you empty the dishwasher, I'll make dinner!"  Or 'If you move the clothes from the washer into the dryer, I'll run in the bedroom and get the other load for the washer."

He wants me to just say, "Frank, will you empty the dishwasher. I'm going to make dinner"  I'm trying to, but it seems so bossy, as if I was the one who sleeps on the right side of the bed! Frankly, I think he's a bit of a nit-picker but he's cute and kisses good, so what the hell!

What quirks do you have in your relationships? Are you together because you both don't like mustard?  What little personal quirks do you have that drives the other crazy?