I know it’s been awhile since I’ve posted but I’ve been on vacation with my husband and the weeks leading up to it were incredibly busy. Now that we’re back though and I’ve had some time to readjust to the time change (ok I’ve really only had one day…so be kind!) I needed to share some things that I’ve recently discovered about my wonderfully geeky husband.
I’ve always known that his brain has been filled with useless information that the average person would immediately forget upon hearing. Don’t get me wrong, he’s great to have around if you want to play Trivial Pursuit (if you’re on his team at least…) but sometimes I’m baffled as to why ANYONE would want to/could possibly remember the things he does. I do love his intellect, it’s one of the major things that drew me to him but this goes beyond intelligence into the territory of craziness. I must admit-on occasion I have probably tuned out a little when he goes on one of his fact spouting sprees. I often wonder when he’ll ever use some of the things he pulls out of his head or shares with me… (unless he plans to go on Jeopardy.)
Well….that is until this vacation.
For those of you that have never cruised before, let me tell you a few things. Firstly, cruises bring together people of all different nationalities and backgrounds-our cruise had guests and staff from over 77 countries (I think….I can’t quite remember the number-but I’ll be my husband does….) Secondly, cruisers tend to be between the ages of 45-75. This creates an interesting atmosphere but can create some small issues; one of these being dinner conversation.
Most nights we were seated at tables of 8 with other couples. Generally speaking, we were always the youngest people at said tables. Now in most cases I wouldn’t call myself a social butterfly of any sort. This isn’t to say that I’m socially inept, but I don’t generally go out of my way to talk to people-especially strangers. In fact 9 times out of 10 if I see someone I know while out in public, unless I’m very good friends with them, I’ll duck down another aisle or slip into another building or hide behind a clothing rack. It isn’t even that I don’t like these people (if you’ve seen me doing this please don’t be offended!!) It’s just that I get this urge to hide. Maybe I’ve got some social anxiety issues…..in any case this is how I am despite the fact that I would consider myself a well spoken intelligent person. Needless to say, I am not the type to suggest topics for conversation when among strangers with whom on the surface I would seem to have very little in common with.
But this is where my husband blew me away. Regardless of whom we sat with and what the topic, he seemed to have something to say about it. He discussed astronomy with some astrophysicists; he talked cars with a British couple, nuclear energy with Americans and economics with Australians. He was always able to pull out some sort of interesting fact that contributed and enhanced the conversations he was having and helped give me the confidence to chime in. By the end of the cruise we’d made some friends having sat with some of the same people regularly although in some cases these people were old enough to be our parents or grandparents.
I suppose this brings me to several conclusions. Age really doesn’t make a difference when it comes to relationships (except of course in the cases where it’s a love based relationship and it’s illegal because those laws are there for a reason!) Secondly, there is really no such thing as useless knowledge because you never know when it might be useful. Thirdly, I am, on occasion wrong. Not often though Honey so don’t get your hopes up.
