A Rainy Sunday Afternoon

Woke up this morning and Kristine and I took a trip to the doctors. Turns out our honeymoon generated some bronchitus in the both of us. Mine is on the way out while Kristine's seems to be in full swing. We both got antibiotics and went to Orem's Diner in Wilton for breakfast. We're home now. Kristine's taking a nap and I'm sitting in front of the tv watching J.J. Abrams on Howard Stern On Demand. If you're a Howard fan, there's no reason you shouldn't cough up the 10 bucks a month for HSOD. The channel is worth it's weight in gold. After Kristine gets up, we'll catch the 4:00 showing of Da Vinci Code in Port Chester. We haven't been to that theater yet but it looks beautiful. We don't really see movies in the theater anymore so I figured we should go to a nice one for the rare occasion.

I mention the diner because I had a bit of an epifany this morning while eating my eggs benedict. Now I fret to mention any thoughts I have on marriage for two reasons. First, I'm prone to change my mind on anything 2 seconds after I've blogged it. Second, my 2 week anniversary was yesterday and for every thought I have on marriage, there's a million married men out there looking at me thinking, "Dave? You have no idea what your talking about."

[moved upstairs. the sleeping Mrs. Novak has informed me that I need to blog next to her on the bed.]

Anyway, regardless of my marriage inexperience, I'm going to offer up a thought or two.

I feel as though I'm a new person and that in the short time I've been married, my priorities have shifted dramatically. Whereas I was once my own person, I am now part of a team. Does this mean I am "whipped"? I don't think so but I'll leave that up to you (and by the way, if you're answer is "yes Dave you are", you'll probably want to keep that yourself unless you want to hear a whipped guy go off on you). But I digress. I'm not here to hate. I'm here to love.

This morning when Kristine and I were heading home and she thanked me for taking her to the doctor, I said to her, "It's a no brainer. If you're not healthy, I'm not healthy." In the past, if Kristine and I were having an argument, I had a very "the hell with this" kind of attitude. My thinking was that I go out of my way to avoid problems and if she's got a problem, that problem is solely hers and I need to just hang in there until she comes out of her funk.

What I realize now is that prior to marriage, I wasn't fully invested in the relationship. I was an individual spending a lot of time with another individual. We loved each other very much but we were two people who at any time could have their own agendas. To have that same attitude now as a married person is the equivelent of me breaking my foot and saying, "Well, that's the foot's problem. I'm just gonna do my own thing til the foot comes around." I have stated before the law and God that Kristine is my world for the rest of my life. I now have a stake in her well-being as her life is now my life. Whereas once I might have said, "What exactly is your problem?", it is now my position to say, "Here's how we can work through this situation." An ambitious proposition to say the least not to mention probably a little naive. Still, that's the position I'm taking at this time and I feel motivated to do so.

What else have I noticed as a result of marriage? 2 things come to mind. First, I've started wearing my seatbelt. Sometimes I'm on the road for a little bit before I realize it's not on but I'm making an effort to change that. Second, "The Way It Is" by Bruce Hornsbey and the Range (one of the biggest wuss songs by one of the biggest wuss bands) came on the radio yesterday...and I didn't change the channel. 100 commercial free music stations on the Sirius satelite radio and I chose to listen to elevator music. Good Grief!!!

Until next time.
Dave