I think I’d forgotten the beautiful things that come with having a full time partner. The wedding is coming, and we are planting roots in Raleigh – working to build a life together.
Of course, there are the typical wins of most any relationship. Someone to unpack your day with, a Ted Lasso viewing partner, a cooker/cleaner combo for dinner, it makes it much more bearable. But maybe it’s the small things that your mate brings that make life most special.
Like cloth napkins. I’ve used paper Food Lion 150 count for years. The first time Julie set the table for dinner and brought out the niceties, I was perplexed. Is someone coming to dinner? Do we have enough to eat? It wasn’t a guest she was preparing for. Only us. Folded cotton, just for me!
She sets out a knife, even when we’re eating soup! Just in case I suppose.
The half-and-half is sometimes in a wee little pitcher shaped like a cow. I was used to a carton straight out of the fridge.
The sheets get changed often, not just when the housekeeper comes.
There are soap cubes in the shower with bits of salt (or something rough) to ensure my pours are fully exfoliated. My face feels so clean.
We don’t use towels for weeks at a time – once or twice and a new one is due. Mmm – fresh!
Candles abound and orchids are potted. Real live ones that take ONE ice cube a week to quench their thirst. Occasionally there’s a pitcher of water with lemons and limes – spa water it’s called.
I’m encouraged to stretch to keep me limber and eat special oyster mushrooms from the Farmer’s market. I’ve been to the market more in the past six months than I had been in years!
I’m not sure what I’m bringing to this partnership – maybe a little laughter and an extraordinary expertise at balancing a checkbook to the penny. But wow, its fun to share once more… to have your personality complimented by another. I’d forgotten how good that could be.
The Real Full House 