Warning: Spouse may not always be as they appear.

 So, Nate and I had a little argument the other day. (For those of you who don't know this, husbands and wives often have disagreements, sometimes those disagreements escalate to raised voices.) (That is a snippet of an example of my sarcasm.) The argument started, as a lot of arguments do, with a conversation that seems to be a hot button issue between us these days; A family dog.

I've been trying very hard lately to persuade Nate to let the kids and I have a puppy, a choice that I may later regret, but a choice I feel quite certain and passionate about at the present time all the same. After a few minutes of listening to his side of things, I realized something that sort of bothered me. Nate is not an animal lover. Before we were married I had assumed Nate was something of an animal lover. The fact that he isn't sort of bothers me. I decided to change the course of the discussion.

"Hey, you know what? I should sue you for false advertising or something." I said.

"What are you talking about?"

"Before we were married I thought you were an animal lover. As soon as the honeymoon was over you started to show your true colors. I just didn't exactly get what I paid for if you catch my drift. Now I think I deserve some kind of...restitution."

"Well, you should learn not to assume things. I never said I was an animal lover. I told you I loved the golden retriever my family had when I was younger that does not mean I love all animals."

"I think my case will hold up. I was lead." I retorted.

Suddenly Nate's face changed from thoughtful to smug. "Yeah well, you know you aren't the only one who was lead to believe something different than the total truth about your spouse. You played the old bait and switch on me too." He said.

Oh great. He's got something on me.

Or he's bluffing.

I decide to call him on it.

"Oh yeah? So what is it then? What did you think I was that I didn't live up to?"

Nate's grin turns to a full-on smile and he shakes his head, retreating. "I can't say."

"I figured you were bluffing."

"I'm not bluffing. I just don't feel it would be...gentlemanly of me to say."

Horar fills me. I realize exactly what he's talking about. Damn, I hate to be wrong. The look of sudden realization must be apparent on my expression, because he gives a cocky nod and says, "Yeah, that's right, you know you lead me to believe we'd be spending a LOT more time in the bed than we do."

I hold my ground.

"You should really learn not to assume things."

Summer chronicles: Popcycles.

Popcycles on the front porch

Its the simple pleasures of summer time that are the most memorable.

The many faces of Matthew Roane

MATTHEW ROANE

IS

THE INCREDIBLE...

BAT-FROG!

(at least for today)

Matthew is doing it again...delighting me! Yesterday, while dressed as bat-frog, Matthew asked me to do a puzzle with him. As we arranged fragments of shapes colors into the face of Buzz Light-year, Matthew chattered on about all his favorite parts of Toy Story 3. Ordinarily I would have loved to sit there and listen to him as he explained a movie in his adorable five-year-old lisp, but he wouldn't talk in his own voice, instead he used his new-found "baby" voice picked up at the baby-sitter's. I'm sure I don't have to tell anyone how grating that voice gets after weeks of listening to nothing else. 

"Gee, I sure miss my big boy Matthew. I liked the way he talked. I don't really like this baby-talk Matthew at all." I said, matter-of-fact.

Matthew looked up from his puzzle, and stared at me for a moment, pondering, then replied, "I miss my other mommy, the pretty one who wears her hair down, not pulled up in a ball."

tu-che'.