I really am very fortunate. O and I have been married for 33 + years with harmony and happiness.

He never cooks, but I put up with it because I knew that going into the bargain. He does wash dishes with gusto, albeit not as frequently as we eat. He does run the water as he washes, but I just leave the room, since that kind of blatant disregard for resources drives me around the bend, and, as I said, he IS washing the dishes. He also is the go-to man for bathroom cleaning and usually laundry. He leaves the house pretty frequently to run or bike or swim but that just leaves me with personal time. He has no idea what I do during my personal time!

Alas, perhaps, the problems are beginning. I now find the toilet seat in the up position on a regular basis. I think this is the beginning of the end, the first sign of impending dementia. It's a small thing, but the bigger concern of what is behind this is troubling me. Is he losing control? Or is my comfort no longer uppermost in his thoughts?When I find the seat up, the first thing I do is quickly evaluate who else is in the house. With three sons, you never know. However with most of them gone most of the time, these days I usually do know. This is such a total change from his usual pattern that I think it is the first clue to something. Maybe he just got tired of all that seat lowering.

But wait, there's more.

This really deserves its whole own posting, it's so weird. He's walking around barefoot. BAREFOOT.

Again, you may think this is small potatoes. It's not. He recently read a book about some guy who runs barefoot. This guy wears special five fingered shoes to do it. So O had to buy himself some of these same shoes. O's are black and look exactly like gorilla feet, especially if he is wearing long pants when he wears the five fingered shoes.

These days O will get out of the car at the gas station barefoot. Or walk around on gravel barefoot. He even starting inviting me to go on hikes, one of my all-time favorite activities. As soon as he showed up for this hike wearing running shorts and gorilla feet, I realized that the "hike" was just a ruse. So I hiked and he ran around in his gorilla feet. I enjoyed myself. Alone, as usual.

And so I just give him a hard time. I ask him, "What's next? Naked guy?"

Maybe he's just running away from that toilet seat.

Wednesday was prep day. Afterward the kitchen was still clean. Thursday was cooking day. Afterward the kitchen was still clean. Thursday night was tetris night ... the fridge was packed to the door and other than two small stacks of dishes, the kitchen was still clean.

We cooked enough for 15 people and fed 4. Spent the day with Lynn, Miss Kid, and Mr. Boyfriend.


I win at Thanksgiving.