May 31st will be Cale and I’s four year wedding anniversary. I cannot believe we have been married for that long. Our marriage is something that has truly gotten better with time and with that has come certain things we have learned to love and respect about each other (for better or worse right?!). Some of the things are sweet, like how Cale is a really great helper around the house, while some of them are just plain weird! Either way it’s the small things that have made marriage so much fun and given it so much character over the last four years. These are the things you can’t stand and yet you love about that person. These are the things that make marriage to your significant other so interesting (ladies you know what I’m talking about!) and without them life would just be boring.
#1: Cale’s favorite summer work outfit includes his clogs and an old button up dress shirt.
I cannot tell you how mad I was the first time I came home and found him piddling in the garden in his FAVORITE dress shirt! Seriously? Not only did he mean to do it but he thinks the color looks great on him (and that matters when gardening because… ??)! I didn’t think he was THAT tied to his dress/work shirt until one time I thought it would be fun to rip his shirt open (you know like in the movies) but apparently things like that are not as “sexy” in real life. I spent the next hour sewing the buttons on while apologizing profusely (ruining any action for me that night)!
Apparently dress shirts are really cool in the summer time. He says it has something to do with the lightweight material. I say… just make sure it’s the same dress/work shirt every time (now, that’s what WE call a compromise!)! 
#2: Meg is deeply intimated by cooking with herbs!
This is our third year of gardening together and I am sad to say that we have never planted herbs until this year! Honestly, we are not good at taking care of the little guys. Often times I use the dried stuff before I even think about the fresh herbs we just purchased. I totally agree that the taste is SOOOOO much better but in the moment I’m bad about remembering to throw them into a recipe. For the longest time I was intimated by herbs and afraid of which ones to put in a dish. I was a “stick to the recipe” kind of girl. After four years of real cooking (cause let’s face it before marriage my cooking limits were bound to the microwave and boiling water) I’ve finally gained confidence in my “thrown together” meals and am ready to take on my fear of herbs.
Wish me luck!
#3: Meg has an addiction to sports, competition, and just winning in general.
When I was a teenager I prayed that God would NOT hook me up with a husband that LOVED ESPN. I grew up playing sports and am very competitive in pretty much all walks of life. I like to think I get it from my Grandma Mac (she may appear all sweet and innocent) but either way it’s sad to say this has been a HUGE place of frustration in our marriage. For the longest time I would get mad at Cale because he would not get as mad and into the games as I would. Don’t get me wrong Cale enjoys watching sports but he is not the kind that is going to yell at the TV or freak out if he misses a game. I on the other hand am up on my feet yelling and seriously cannot wait to be a soccer/sports mom! You know the type… with the minivan and bumper stickers (although Cale won’t let me drive around in a minivan so it will probably be a suburban of some sort). In our four years of marriage I’ve realized it’s a good thing that Cale does not get mad cause we will need one of us to remain calm and centered when the ref makes a bad call against one of our kids someday.
And… this is ANOTHER good reason why we do not have cable at our house and are stuck to whatever sport is on FOX on Saturdays (which have you seen the rugby games!? So cool! AND the 2012 Summer Olympics… oh, how I have been waiting for you!).
#4: Most of the vegetables in our garden we have “grown” to like.
Cale grew up on a farm with home cooked meals everyday (his mom to this day makes the BEST homemade bread hands down). Although these meals were made fresh they mainly were “meat and potato” type dishes. I on the other hand didn’t like salads until I was in high school! The first year we had a garden we had a lot of our crop go to waste due to the fact that we were not good about creating meals around our fresh produce. We’ve had to work hard to find recipes that we both like. I tend to be ok with more raw foods while Cale wants more seasoning and flavor (and no matter what DOES NOT like brussel sprouts!). Gardens are a lot of work and money (when you look at the time you invest compared to the fact that you could probably purchase that onion that’s taken 2 months to grow for $.50 cents at the store!) so we’ve forced ourselves to grow vegetables that we know we will not get sick of and/or that we can preserve and enjoy throughout the rest of the year. Establishing healthy eating habits that we both like and agree on as truly “healthy” (For example; cheese, summer sausage, and crackers is not a “healthy” snack!) has been really hard but totally worth the struggle! I’m looking forward to feeding our little man some great garden goodness at a young age. And even though my mom pureed the tomato chunks in her homemade chili (my brother and I didn’t like them) my kid is just gonna have to get over it! Or not eat. The decision is up to him.
In a marriage you learn to pick your battles and that it’s not worth fighting over EVERYTHING! These are some of the weird and interesting things we have come to understand (or just accept) about who we are and these are just a few things that looking back have made our marriage so much fun (even amongst the fighting!).
I’m looking forward to figuring out many more weird and unusual things about Cale and myself for YEARS to come. Bring it on.
Do you relate to any of these weird and unusual things? What things have you come to love/enjoy about your spouse that may have driven you crazy in the beginning?
From the Farm 
