Now I am doing the wash.  She spotted a gigantic spider near the washing machine and alerted me.  It was on the side wall and I tried to trap it and cover it with a large ash tray so I could safely release outside but it evaded my capture.

It had a large head and feet that must have been two inches long.  I don’t like spiders myself but I was running out of underwear and pants so someone had to do the wash.  Every time I went in the vicinity I would look for it.

No luck.  I am sure it liked the dust that collected around there.  And I certainly was not going to try to flush it out.  It was up to me to do the wash.  My wife was not going anywhere near there.

Couples have issues they never resolve.  Think about it?  If both partners agree on all issues, then boredom would step in.  No matter how hard you try there will be issues you can’t resolve.

In my case, I am sloppy and my wife is a packrat.  I may be sloppy but disorder does bother me.  Dust does not bother me as much as my wife although I am the same person who wrote a poem, “I Love Dirt.”

I can not change my partner.  I try but I usually fail.  And my partner does the same, tries to change me.  Both of us are usually unsuccessful in our attempts to change the other–radically anyway.

Our basic personality is set.  Couples spend lifetimes trying to smooth out the rough edges between them.  It gives you something to do and also makes your relationship more interesting although divorce is plentiful.

Many people give up on their partners.  I don’t know how many times I read a famous couple state the reason for their breakup is ‘irrevocable differences’.

Every couple is incompatible.  You work things out and there will always be issues that never can be worked out.  And somehow you need to accept your differences.  And respect them.  That is what makes the relationship work–respect.