Since we got back from California, I have been troubled by the number of people who have asked how we made the trip without killing each other.  It seems that some of our friends are under the impression that Jim and I don’t get along very well.

They hear us bickering and think we must be angry, but we never get angry.  We sometimes disagree and when that happens neither of us is willing to give up.  It’s in our DNA to always be right.  However, we are mature enough to know that our instincts are frequently bad for us and we never get angry with each other about disagreements.

In fact, there are times when we deliberately pick at each other just for amusement.  We don’t really indulge this idiosyncrasy with anyone else in the family.  The strength of our relationship is the reason we can push right to the edge of anger without crossing the line.

I guess people who don’t really know both of us have trouble understanding.  I am the oldest of five children.  He is the youngest.  Growing up, we didn’t really spend time together.  When I got married the first time, he was only nine years old.  When I moved to California, he was only eleven.  We began to develop a real relationship when I returned to Kentucky, but he left for the Air Force not long afterward.  We didn’t get to spend enough time together to discover how much we are alike until years later.

The two of us are more like each other than any of our other siblings.  We are the only two that have ever lived any place except Madisonville for any length of time.  We are the only two that love to read and have a consistent need to experience new things.   While I am more analytical and he is more creative, we share overlapping interests.

I am the words on the page, he is the picture that illustrates them.  Both of us together tell the story.  Although I don’t share his obsession with trains, I am inclined to photograph landscapes with streams, lakes, rocks, trees, and flowers.  So, while he is “waiting for a train,” I am perfectly happy wandering along the track taking photos of other things or just relaxing with a book.  Even our differences are compatible.

So, to those who may think our relationship is fraught with conflict, rest easy. It’s all “much ado about nothing.” Just a friendly debate that draws no blood. We love and respect each other, it’s just more fun to argue.