Do Throw Pillows Serve a Purpose?
Part 1
The rare occasion of male-female role reversal in my life always
makes me laugh. I mean, I am not
stereotypical in female areas such as clothes shopping and the number of shoes
I possess. However, I think I am pretty
typical in all others. I like romance
novels and chick flicks. I do not like to take out the trash. I like chocolate and red wine, preferably
enjoyed together.
I do not like to cut the grass, even just a small area that should be
easily managed by those of average coordination with a weed eater (I had a
dangerous, ineffective attempt at independently maintaining my lawn as a single
female homeowner). I like bubble baths and this can be combined with wine and chocolate as wellJ. I do not like to get my hands dirty (Some
have stated this suggests I possibly have a touch of OCD but I chalk it up to
being acutely aware of the importance of hand hygiene as a pediatric
nurse). Well, I think you get the point. Now to my accurate account of real life
events.
Rorschach and the Budding Friendship
This story takes me back to my college days. That was such a fun, interesting time of my
life. A time of reckless abandonment, a
time of a little hurt and heartache, a time of tremendous growth all while
trying to become a fulfilled, responsible adult. Good times!
Great memories!
Before I decided to go to nursing school, I wanted to be a child
psychologist. So I got a psychology
degree with biology as my minor. In one
of my biology classes I met Mike, who became one of my greatest friends. We were sitting at the same table in lab
together. I think I was supposed to be
dissecting a baby pig, or small ferret, or maybe it was an earthworm. Regardless, I was uneasy and it felt unnatural,
even though it was clearly lifeless and reeked of formaldehyde. In a moment of weakness I must have asked the
nearest person, who happened to be Mike, for assistance. He offered help. And then he later offered to have me over to his
house so we could work on our lab project.
I was easily annoyed that he noted my lab technique incompetency/uneasiness. (On a side note, I think incompetency/uneasiness might be a
recurring theme in my life: my less-than stellar driving record, my inability
to operate small machinery such as weed eaters and my discomfort/near panic while
trying to snorkel. Ordinary, mundane
events for most; unnatural and challenging for me). But anyway, regardless of
my annoyance, I noted that he offered to cook for me. I said yes because I immediately envisioned myself
enjoying something men cook on the grill, like a hot dog or a steak! I get to eat something I love all while
working on my A for class. GPA was
really important to me!
Mike called me later that week in anticipation of our offsite
lab gathering. We talked normal small
talk; where we grew up, college major, current weather conditions, etc. When he learned I was majoring in psychology,
he excitedly exclaimed, “Great, you can come over and analyze me!” I was taken aback and disappointed. I found myself wishing we were still talking
about the barometric pressure. My vision
of enjoying a beer and a steak outdoors quickly changed to a real possibility of
a night spent indoors with him lying on the couch covered in his grandmother’s
afghan discussing his inner most thoughts on the lack of bonding with his mom
because he was not breastfed; thus the resultant effect of an inability to
commit to women yet a unique fascination/fixation of female breasts. (Disclaimer: I do not think this is a real
hypothesis or has actually ever been studied.
And I do not mean it as an offense if you have had a similar
thought/inquiry. It is just a random
thought that appeared in my crazy mind while typing). As I was facing my new reality of the
evening, I dejectedly replied, “Well, I did just get my Rorschach inkblock test
kit in the mail and I have been waiting to break it in.”
It turned out to be a fun night.
No afghans. No inkblock tests.
The beginning of a long friendship.
Oh this is gonna be fuuuunnn to read.... Loving the becca blog!
ReplyDeleteThanks Donna!
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