Differences

Do not take this as criticism of my husband. I am still giggling to myself at our differences.

Coming back from Vienna and Switzerland we going to stay in The Nest for one night. That is the studio that would still be my retirement home had Rick not reentered my life. We live in the Warren(andpeace), two doors down where there is more room.

I also admit I am a bit OCD, especially in The Nest where everything is exactly in place about 98% of the time.

The reason we were in the Nest was that our housesitters were leaving the next morning (we had just returned from Geneva) and it made no sense to displace them for a night's sleep.

I made careful plans for several days. We would unload the car into the Warren. Put everything in the back room. Rick travels with tons of stuff. I travel with as little as possible.

I arranged to have everything we needed in this tiny bag. Then Rick would only have to carry that and his computer up to the 4th (American) 3rd (European) floor. I could be in my beloved Nest exactly as I like it. Clutter free. Everything in its place. Win-win.

I talked to him about it. More than once. I said I had a change of underwear and toiletries for each of us in the Swiss craft bag. All we could ever dream of needing for less than a nine-hour stay.

Imagine my horror when I went upstairs to see bag after bag after bag of his things plus my computer case. Not all is shown. The table also was also covered. He had unloaded stuff already into the backroom of the Warren.

We have to remember that the Nest is only 18 square meters. That makes places to put stuff hard to find.

Okay, I thought. At least I can clear the table and chairs so when I wake in the morning in a tiny part of the studio it will be beautiful to look at without clutter. I fell asleep, looking forward to my neat area.

I woke.

I glanced at the table and chairs that had been free the night before.

This is how it looked.

There seems to be some rule that neat freaks marry or live with messy freaks. As I said, I couldn't stop giggling. Love is more than neat or messy, but if he converts to neat, I will still love him.