My husband, Ron, and I have three large breed dogs. I had one, then we met, got married and wanted a puppy. Came home with two puppies because neither of us could separate ourselves from our favorites in the litter. Thus we have three dogs. My 83 year old father likes to say “everyone needs three big dawgs!” And I guess we do. Now we have three more! And a rooster. Sort of.
Ron and I are developing 13 acres in Dripping Springs, Texas, complete with ten small houses, or Casitas, that will be a country inn of sorts come September. So one might ask, among a thousand other questions, "how are you going to furnish ten small houses ranging from 400-900 square feet plus outdoor living space?" My first answer would be: sell your first born! But no, we discovered online garage sales.
Living in the beautiful and friendly Texas Hill Country, there are small communities dotted across the area. Each has its own culture and traditions. All love to sell crap. I mean gently used stuff. If you are lucky, you can find some winners…like my three dogs and the rooster.
So, each weekend, and some evenings, Ron and I run around picking up our bargains: dining sets, end tables, chairs, décor, etc. We often have the need to tie down furniture in the back of the truck. I learned on several of those first trips that Ron and I have different methods of tying down furniture in the back of a truck. I, of course, knew the most effective method while I was sure he didn’t. I would assert my “expertise” and he would become seriously annoyed. After about our third outing with the unfriendly banter about tying down furniture, I quit “suggesting” how it should be done. Still knowing that I was right and he was just “not as advanced” as me, I stayed silent, followed orders and thought to myself: “this stuff is going to blow out of the bed of that truck, then I get to say – told you so!” The problem with this plan was the stuff Ron tied down never blew out. This was the moment in life when I learned to be a follower.
In my profession, and I guess with my personality (Type A maybe?), I’ve always taken the lead, especially with work. Despite my amazing, talented and capable staff, the buck stops with me, and so all day long I am making decisions. I’m 49 years old and for the first time, I’m following someone’s lead. I’m in the shadows on functions in his areas of expertise, among them are building (obviously - but I’m not giving up design), and now moving furniture.
Becoming business partners with your spouse is absolutely nuts, for sure. But, if it forces us to better appreciate each other in new and different ways, then I’m guessing we will avoid the asylum. Regardless, I have three little dogs now, and a rooster, that will always remind me of the sweet and capable man I married, who happens to know how to tie down furniture in the back of a truck.