A STUDY IN CONTRAST


If you ever wanted to see a study in contrast, come spend a day with Lois and I.
Physically, we are very similar in stature, hair color, and even some features. Spend ten minutes with us and you will see that is where the similarities end. Our differences are superficial, I wouldn’t be caught dead in clothes that don’t match, and she on the other hand has no concept that black and blue only look good together in a bruise. In addition to the superficial differences, our approach to life in general is exactly opposite. I’m the queen of organization; she is the dictionary definition of chaos.

When I get up in the morning, there is a very definite order to things. A shower, followed by blow dryer, then lotion, then makeup, then clothes that have been well thought out and ironed. The finishing touches include jewelry and a curling iron. Lois’s morning consists of a shower and clothes pulled from a pile in chair that she has mistaken for a bureau for the last ten years. Needless to say, she spends a lot of time impatiently waiting for me to be ready.

Lois loves mornings. She is up with the birds, feeding them. She has the paper from the box, breakfast cooked, the paper read, and all of her morning activities done by 7:00 am. I guess that’s okay on workdays, but that is a seven day a week routine for her. I am NOT a morning person. My idea of an early morning is being awake before 8:30 am. I love to lounge in the morning. If I’m not working, being ready for the day at 10:00 am is fine by me. Trying to convince her that 10:00 am is still part of the morning has become a fruitless effort.

Well, we are finally ready for the day and off we go. If we have specific plans, Lois has to get that all accomplished before she can enjoy her day. I, on the other hand, like to take little detours from the schedule. It drives her crazy. She can’t relax until all the scheduled items have been accomplished. I find that quite humorous, as she is the most chaotic and unorganized person I know. She finds my little detours amazing, given my sense of organization.

One would think how does this work? They must drive each other crazy! For all the differences we have, and I have really only listed a few, we have one important similarity, tolerance. We are at an age, that we have come to understand, being different is okay. She lets me sleep in the morning, and I in turn will let her accomplish what we have planned before making any side trips. Contrast in personalities is not always a bad thing, if both sides are willing to make sacrifices. Ten years later, we are making those sacrifices willingly, because we understand the magnitude of what we have.