You Say Tomayto, I Say Tomahto

My brother was here over the weekend and left yesterday morning. That’s how I came to get behind on my blog entries in the past few days. He didn’t come all the way down here to watch me write “Things At King’s.” However, he did graciously appear on my radio show, so all was not lost.

I hear people complaining about their ex-spouse: “We had nothing in common.” Well, yeah, but what’s your point? Jim and I have nothing in common except our parents and we do very well together. And when we say “nothing in common,” we mean Nothing with a capital nothing. How to we handle it?

I know how I do it: living his interests through our daily e-mails, IMs at night, his written stories. I’d hate travelling around in a small camper, but it’s really nice to hear stories about what went on as he goes here and there. His fishing journeys would make me jump in the lake holding an anvil, but he writes well about them and I like that.

You don’t have to join in another person’s life to be compatible. You need to ask about it, get familiar with what your significant other likes and care enough to listen to the stories. You’d be surprised how interesting they can be if you don’t blow them off with “I’m not into that.”

I’m not into his travelling, but I’m sure into his stories about what happens, the people he meets. I’d hate to have anything in common with him; it’s more fun this way.