Standing Your Ground

A week from tomorrow the wife and I will be traveling to a small community building roughly two miles out of town here in south-central Arkansas to place our hopes and wishes on a single man. We will vote for President of the United States of America, and while we have both made our decision (and have for a bit), certain family members have made constant jabs and small comments in reference to our decision. Last night this all culminated the wife's parents open up a can and the wife soundly shutting it once and for all with a successful argument based on fact with a dash of talk points thrown in for flavor. Either way you looked at it though, she won the argument and ended up quieting her mother who is quite the debater (and an Irish Scorpio to boot!). It got a little bloody on both sides of the discussion, but I was quite proud of wifey. She stood her ground, listened with intensity, and above all, she patiently plodded along getting through a thick "No Spin Zone."

Now, some have asked me in the retelling of this tale what I did in the mix. To that end, I ask: have you ever seen a tornado form? It begins with a jet of air that begins spinning inside of a cloud. As the spinning air continues to grow inside, it begins drawing in warm air from near the ground, and if it continues this inflow, the funnel eventually takes shape and will grow so long as that inflow of air continues to feed the cloud. In short, tornadoes are dangerous because they essentially fuel their own fire. Last night was such an event as the energy between mother and daughter grew and began forming that funnel, and when you see the funnel, emergency services always warn you to seek the nearest shelter. So, I sat back and watched out for debris. Surprisingly, because the wife was able to present an actual, intelligent argument in contrast to her mom who resulted to Fox News catch phrases, there was little in the way of actual debris. Both ended the debate worked up, but they were at least able to continue in a friendly manner. I think this speaks volumes to the strength and maturity of wifey. Had she not been able to keep a cool head and think quickly, her mother would have simply pulled the "you don't have enough life experience to understand" card.

So, what does all this mean: it means my wife is great, I love her, and I'm proud to have married such an intelligent mate. Yay, Nerds!!