Last night, I helped Russell learn his Tree Identification flashcards through grade school-like quizzing. It was, "Okay Russ, here's the common name, you give me the botanical name. Ready? Catalina Cherry. Coast Live Oak. London Plane Tree." I prefaced my quizzing by saying that he'd have to forgive me if I, in any way, became condescending. Because I know it's oh so easy to feel that way when someone else has the cards and is giving you hints, with that "It's-so-easy-if-you-just-use-half-your-brain" look. That's when I, at least, become a serious hater.
As Russ was getting tired and frustrated and I was trying to devise helpful hints using words like lactate, I noticed that I'd put on my nightgown backwards.
"Why didn't you tell me that I had it on backwards?" I asked him.
But he was laughing too hard to answer. I have the feeling the irony of the seeing me, the quizzer, in the backwards nightgown each time he looked up made it a lot easier to listen to my stupid hints without shame. So I left it on backwards and he learned all his tree flashcards.
I think this is exactly what our premarital counselor meant when he talked about an egalitarian marriage.
No comments:
Post a Comment