by Mrs. Hathoway

Created on: July 01, 2010

Give and Take

I remember the beginning, when I thought we were so much alike, we thought the same thoughts, finished each others sentences and even called each other at the same time. What happened? Now it's just a game of give and take.

You never really know what your getting into when you first start living with someone but then you realize that there has to be a medium. There has to be a fine line where we can live in peace. He was a slob, dropping his clothes like a snake, you can always tell what room he was in and if you look carefully you could tell what he did through out the day. Plates of unfinished food, beer cans that lead a trail to the garbage, even used cotton swabs in the bathroom. What a way to leave a presence. I always heard make your mark, but does it count when you leave pee stains on the toilet seat?

I was the type that would fold underwear. I organized my clothes by color in the closet, set up my books by height and even rinsed the extra toothpaste on the toothpaste tube. I grew up knowing that if you get your clothes ready at night for tomorrow you can save time in the morning to do things like eating breakfast and getting to work on time. Things were changing fast and I didn't know how to stop it.

It came like a whirl wind, work was getting hectic and I never had time to clean. Everyday I spent going to work, and then going home to set up a routine to get the house back to a normal degree of sane. It was driving me crazy. I was in love so I did the work and even played the mind games like I'll do your laundry if you only make it in the basket. It was no use, him cleaning he would make a mess. One time he washed the dishes, the plates were clean but the floor was soaked and a trail of paper towels were all over the kitchen.

And just like that I snapped. Screaming from the top of my lungs, threatening that I would leave and nothing is worth this madness. Crying and packing my things, I gave up because I couldn't find my suitcase in all this mess. He was stunned, and looking into his eyes he was afraid. He knew he wasn't the greatest guy in the world to live with but he knew he loved me. I stood there in a pile of who knows what, and he hugged me with his big arms for so long I forgot where I was. I stopped crying, he brushed the tears and my hair out of my face to see me. He looked into my eyes and sighed, kissed my face and said, " I am a slob and I know that I could do more than what I'm doing. You need to give me time and this will work out. Take my hand and I promise you that we'll do this together, not my way, not your way but our way."

We were in a world just made for two and after he spoke the reality of the mess creeped back in as I looked around the room. He gave me hope and I took in the idea that you have to give in a little to take in and what he gave me was more than just an organized closet. He gave me love.

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