Opposites Still Attract

And they said it would never last. My husband and I just celebrated our 26^th wedding anniversary. Whoever said, “opposites attract” wasn’t kidding.  My husband, The Consultant and I are the north and south poles. He is hot mustard, I am ketchup, he is Led Zeppelin, I am Bette Midler, he is a Jeep, I am a Honda. He sees the world in black and white and I see every colour of the rainbow.  I am creative expression while he is depth and contrast.

We are the Canadian Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed. Upon meeting The Consultant, our acquaintances are surprised by our opposing personalities.

“What is a nice girl like you doing with this guy?” they ask. “Do you know your husband isn’t always politically correct?” Gee, I hadn’t noticed.

And the opposite is true. The Consultant is asked, “How did you talk such a sweet, beautiful, young woman like that into marrying you?” or something like that.

In many ways, we live in different worlds together, but dig beneath the obvious and we are a lot alike. We were raised in similar households with like values. We have no cultural differences affecting our ideas on parenting and family connections. We love to travel and are at our best when on the road. We are a team. He works his strengths, I work mine and together we come out ahead. We talk about current events, life and the kids, and find the ultimate in mutual respect when we often agree to disagree.  But, we agree on the important beliefs like how to raise the children, how to be there for one another, how to laugh when we need it most, how to chose the correct fork in the road.

Married for 26 years, together for 36. He is my spark. I am his tranquility. He has taught me strength. I have taught him diplomacy. Together, we have perspective. We are soup and sandwich; horse and carriage; love and marriage. As the song says, “You can’t have one without the other.”

We’ve got everything… including the same anniversary card. What?

“We’ve got everything… because we’ve got each other.”