Unsprung Spring

What a lovely day here in middle tennessee. It’s freezing, for chrissake, and I’ve all but put away my winter clothes. Welcome to March in Tennessee. No respect for the calendar. Or for my expectations. It sure put a crimp in my tennis game today. Maybe even tomorrow. I am being inconvenienced. Help, Obailaout.

So, instead of having our usual light spring fare for dinner tonight, like a nice tuna salad or light salmon patties, I’m back to making soup. Chicken soup. With vegies, and brown rice. And a nice crusty bread to go with it. Maybe some nice swiss and sharp cheddar cheeses for fun. I love soup for dinner, I really do. I just thought that “soup days” were behind us. Did I tell you it’s cold here?

Connie went to work this morning with no coat. She’s the weather maven in the family, always telling me what to expect, what to wear, how to drive, amongst other “suggestions”.

Payback time. This’ll learn her to take her own advice. The temp will drop this afternoon to a balmy 40* or less, with snow showers expected. She’ll have to go to her car after work, start it up and sit there until it gets warm. She can’t start it and go back inside until it warms up because, in her work neighborhood, they collect those kinds of cars. You know, motor running, no driver. It wouldn’t last a whole minute before it was relieved of its rightful owner. And she hates cold weather. If I had any decency I’d drive a coat to her place, about 20 miles. Tough break for her.

Being a caring husband is an art. If you play coy and cool you get accused of not caring enough. If you do too much all the time then you’re a doting man who needs a life of his own. Balance is the key. Give a little, take a little, and, when the time is right, ignore. That creates mystery. The thrill of the unknown. The passive / aggressive magnetism that solidifies so many relationships. And believe me when I tell you our relationship is very solid. We can passive / aggressive with the best of them.

Fact is that I’ve never had a better relationship with another human being than I have with Connie. She knows me better than anyone else, and loves me in spite of it. For a man like me this happens to be a very freeing experience. I could probably go out and rob a bank, and she’d forgive me for it. No, I don’t want to rob a bank because I’m also, on top of all my other weaknesses, an abject coward who hates confrontation. What could be more confrontational than robbing a bank? As a matter of fact, I think about doing lots of things that would be dangerous and detrimental to my life, but I don’t do any of those things because…I’m a coward, and, I’m not stupid. I like my life the way it is, with all the messes and incomplete projects and confusion. And weird fantasies. After all, if I had everything organized and running smoothly I’d have to keep it that way. Boring! And too much work. See? I’m lazy, too.

Let’s hear it for all the lazy people out there. We are the birthright of efficiency and ingenuity. ‘Scuse me, it’s almost noon and I need a nap.

PS: This blog is NOT a confessional. It’s an observational. I reserve the right to change my character at any time, without notice. Thank you.