Opposites Attract

After reading LB's entry on how different she and Scott are, I started thinking about ways that Brad and I are opposites. Some of them are pretty random, so I made a list for your viewing enjoyment.

It's true: opposites really do attract!


1. Cold vs. Heat

Brad loves to sleep in the coooold while I prefer to have the room regular-person-temperature so that when I wake up and get out of bed, I'm not shivering and miserable. This difference is most pronounced in the winter, as Brad will continue to leave windows open even when its (literally) 40 degrees outside.

So, on cold nights, our routine is as follows: Brad cracks a few windows and then closes the blinds, hoping I won't notice. Then, I go around the whole house, closing every window. Sometimes he gets one past me, but then in the morning when all 3 animals are in the bed with us, trying to sleep by (or on top of) the only warmth in the house, he inevitably regrets his decision.


2. Brad is a details man; I am not.

Brad can remember every detail about every historical event and every place and every phone number, along with remembering directions and dates. I, however, cannot. I don't remember directions; I don't remember telephone numbers; I don't remember historical dates; I don't know where countries are located on a map; and I don't know the history of any of those countries.

This is pretty sad, considering I teach people from all over the world. I WANT to know; I just haven't had a reason until now. I am embarrassed to say that when I first started teaching international students, I used to get Taiwan and Thailand mixed up. Of course, my sweet husband had to tell me how these are two of the most different countries in all of Asia, and the people are incredibly distinct, even in physical features. Good thing I have Brad. He keeps me from embarrassing myself by asking my Taiwanese students if they can teach me to say "hello" in Thai! :0


3. Our dog disciplining

I think Tuco and Turk belong on the floor. Brad thinks they belong on the couch. He won that disagreement... 'nuf said.


4. Our book reading

Brad likes to keep books clean and nice, while I like to mark important lines and leave notes in the margins.

Let's just put it this way: I annoy Brad when I put messy notes in his books.


5. Our walking speeds.

This is an unusual one, I know. Brad and I walk at very different speeds, which causes complications when we're walking the dogs (which we do every day), walking into church together, walking around the grocery store, etc.

As far as I'm concerned, if I'm walking somewhere, I want to get there as quickly as possible! So, I walk everywhere at super-fast-noone-can-keep-up speed. Brad, on the other hand, likes to get places comfortably and enjoy the scenery. So, he walks normal-person speed, oftentimes getting left in the dust.


6. Brad likes to save money; I think it grows on trees.

This was one of the biggest shockers for me when we got married. Brad wanted to save a fair percent of every paycheck. What, I said?! I thought we could spend all that on books and clothes!

I've gotten better about this one, I must say.


7. Brad tends to be a little germy-phobic! I eat things straight off the floor.

Is that gross? probably. The funniest thing is when Brad insists on my changing clothes after going to the movie theatre. He says there are more bad germs there than in the toilet. I humor him and put on clean jeans.



As I was making this list, I realized that we had more differences when we first got married. After 4 years, we have definitely become more alike! I guess that's the value of being opposites...

Maybe I'll make a list of our "alikes" one day.