Feature
July, 01 2008
Round Two
by Leslie Schelat-McBride
In the last two weeks, James and I have made it through "The Absolute Truth," pondered "Turn Ons and Turn Offs," worked through "Issues and Us" and giggled at some of our "Choices." Now we're done, and I'm kind-of sad, by the way; I should have kept you all waiting a little longer!
So, what have we learned?
First and foremost, it really is a fantastic idea to take the five or ten minutes each day - be it when we get home from work, with an after dinner drink or when we're tucked into bed - to relax and focus on each other. I don't think it takes purchasing a fill-in-the-blanks book to figure that out, but especially after a long day, it's much more interesting than the average how-was-work conversation.
Second, I am truly surprised at how much James and I don't know about each other, or at least each other's thoughts and feelings. We've been together for almost 6 years, (more than 25 percent of my life!), and I thought there wasn't a whole lot we didn't share with each other – a statement I am sure will rings more true as the years pass. Even so, we needed the reminder that while we may know a lot *about* each other, there's always more to a person than their name, rank and serial number. And, for all those men who, like James, "don't do feelings," and don't read, guess what? They just may forget that's what they're talking about *and *that they're reading when presented with this fun "game." It's not the Great American Novel, but hey, it counts for something, right?
Lastly, I think Keel throws some of the questions in just to confuse the heck out of you - or maybe they're your little reminder that despite the fact that you may be revealing deep, dark secrets you never thought would come up when you stopped playing 10 fingers in your sorority house (cough, cough), *this is supposed to be fun*. Hence the reason he asks if you pee in the shower (page 45) and politely lets you know that if you sometimes eat your boogers, it's ok (pg 105).
What's the most interesting thing I learned about James during our adventure? Well, it could be that the most flattering thing I ever said to him was "You're getting fat" (for a formerly chronically skinny and for some time, quite ill, person, I suppose this may be misconstrued as a compliment, but I am fairly certain I didn't mean that his extra chins were sexy).
He also lists ABBA as a turn on, thinks chivalry is dead (even though he scolds me for opening the door for myself) and builds a mean campfire. He treasures my Great-Grandmother's wisdom, which I shared with him when he moved away – "It's not goodbye, it's until we meet again," and thinks it's cute that I have to stick my feet out of the blankets when I sleep.
James even says that he had fun and liked talking about all the interesting topics with me, since they aren't things that come up in most normal conversations - or at least not the conversations we're having. He also wants me to let everyone know that when he said he pictures a rock when he thinks of me, he meant a very nice, pretty and shiny rock.
Glad we cleared that up.
