Lest anyone think C is too perfect, I can assure you he does have some flaws. Not many, but they are there. For example, he has some really weird issues with food - I don't really want to go into them here, but they practically merit a blog post of their own. As a quick example - he ate his first orange while we were in Egypt. How do you make it to 30 without ever having eaten an orange??? I mean my grandma did because she grew up in post-war Finland, but come on, nowadays it's insane. Fin bref. Let's just say the issues were almost a deal-breaker for me in the beginning but that to his credit, he's been making a huge effort ever since I told him how much of a problem it was getting to be.
He is also the slowest driver on the planet. For as much as I love discovering new things with him, I dread the car ride there. Our 3 1/2hr drive to Poitiers on Saturday took over 6 hours and our drive back took 7 hours because the man consistently drives 20km UNDER the speed limit. And has to stop every hour for a break. It drives me absolutely insane. He goes 70km/hr in a 90 zone. And 90km/hr in a 110. I think it's probably an American thing - we tend to just get in the car and drive, only stopping for a pee break when it's absolutely necessary. Anything else just wastes time. But the worst is on the auto-route. They're not cheap, and in my mind, you're paying for the right to go faster. I don't want him to speed, but just to go the 130km/hr speed limit. We've yet to have a major fight, but by God, the speed issue just might cause me to explode one day. (Or maybe it will motivate me to finally learn how to drive a manual car LOL).
But I try to be patient because lord knows I am not without flaws myself. The day I brought up all of his food issues, I said "but there must be things that I do that bother you too" - and he just looked at me quizzically and said "Mais tes défauts font partie de ta perfection" (But your faults are part of your perfection). Which has to be about one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me.
And that is what I try to focus on when we are stopping to take our gazillionth break along the way.
Labels: C's follies, Love is in the air
posted by Ksam @ 9:16 PM
12 Comments:
My friend finished with a guy because (among other reasons) he didn't eat any veegtables. NONE AT ALL! It sounds like a silly reason to break up with someone ... but it was a nightmare when they went out on their few dinner dates. They didn't get to the living together stage -- but I am sure that his habits would just about exclude joint eating --- not a good basis for a LTR...!
hahahaha!! That had me in STITCHES Sam!!! So, does C read your blog, by the way? Just wondering! hahhahaah!
Weird with the oranges but I don't think I'd mind about the slow driving thing as I think Alex drives too fast most of the time, and it freaks me out.. Even though Alex goes the speed limit.. it's me in the passenger seat and I for me, that's a scarier place to be here in France... Oh well..
I LOVE what he said about your défauts, though! He's too busy scoring bonus points, who the heck cares about the food thing (I've got the one on myself, too- so I can totally relate to that) or the driving.. Alex driving drives me NUTS, seriously.. I told him once last year that we had to stop being so negative in the car b/c it was giving me gray hairs!! No joke... You should see me/or hear me rather - I'm a nutty passenger!!!
Enjoy your happiness.. You reserve deserve to be with a great guy!!
Hey, no one's perfect, right?
Big LOL to the oranges and driving too slow! I think the slow driving would drive me up the wall too. There's no point in losing all those extra hours of vacation time just to sit in a car for twice as long as necessary!
Yep, if we ever go on a road trip, I'm driving! I think that would kill me ... I loved driving in France! 130 - 140 - 150 km/hr no big deal. I like it fast, and that my dear is why I will not let C drive during our next tour of Bourgogne. ;-)
The slow driving + stop might be incredibly annoying now but if one day you have children, you might actually be grateful for it. I used to love the way my Italian boyfriend got us places FAST but now, with my kids in the car, and his reticence to EVER stop for a snack/potty break, it's not so sexy.
I drive on a lot more trips than I'd like to.
You can't drive a stick? Oh my...
The orange thing is kinda weird... but driving slow might just be a way of saving money on gas and trying to make sure you're safe on the road. David drives slow on the highway too, but it's mostly because my car is super old and gas is super expensive!
I am still recovering from your April Fool joke! Take it from an old married lady, faults are part of the human experience. Both parties learn to live with them. So, no wedding?! Linda
I have to agree with Jennifer! Does he stop at crosswalks for pedestrians, too? If so, wow.
You could always just drink a lot of wine along the way...that way, the speed thing might not bother you as much and then you'd have more need for the facilities. Everybody wins!
My mother in law is Finnish. They live next door to us and last night we were talking about growing up in Finland (FIL is Swedish) after the war and food rationing. She came to Sweden when she was 18 and remembers walking around and being amazed at all the food everywhere.
The Swedes treated the Finns as low class and didn't do much to help them out at that time.
I'd love driving with him, I think! I love to just amble along and stop a lot. My husband used to drive so fast I was always on the edge of my seat, he's slowed down in the last few years.
I guess the food thing depends on how important food-and food culture--is to you. I went out with a vegetarian for several years and while there were other issues that led to us breaking up, I decided that being able to share dining experiences was too important to me. I got tired of having to compromise on restaurants and making pasta all the time.
Hi Sam! I totally know exactly what you mean, as I bet most anyone in a long-term relationship does, lol. Andrew grew up all over the world, his family moved every 2-3 years his entire life so there are many things that are totally "normal" that he has no or little exposure to. It's hard to remain patient when he asks me for the millionth time way something is done the way it's done here in the states, or having to explain some sort of cultural thing /colloquialism he was never exposed to. Worse part is he is so sensitive and I can be a bit snappy at times which results in arguments over whether or not I was being mean. hahahah this all sounds so funny as I write it but are some of the stupid little things we deal with. When it comes down to it, I guess you just have to keep in mind why you love being around this person and how much they improve your life, even when you're on the edge of losing it. ^_^
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