Yesterday, as I was kicking up dust in the attic trying to stow away the Halloween boxes, my husband shouted up to me “Where are the batteries in the dancing chicken?”

Ok, long story, but yes, we have a dancing Halloween chicken that shuffles around to the beat of Macarana. The battery compartment was empty and he was puzzled. Just yesterday, the chicken had danced across the floor.

I shouted back down through the attic trapdoor, “I took the batteries out before I came up here. You’re not supposed to leave batteries in seasonal items or they might leak and corrode the inside.”

Now, my husband knew this about batteries. What was so baffling to him, however, was that I not only knew this, but had followed up and taken the batteries out before hauling the Halloween box to the attic. I’m not the one who usually tends to those kinds of details. He does. I’m more of a short cutter. I don’t towel dry dishes; nor do I carefully wrap every ornament in it’s own piece of newspaper when I store Christmas stuff. So why, he wondered, would I be so thorough as to take out batteries for storage?

The answer is something we’ve said to each other many times throughout our marriage, and which he shouted up the attic trapdoor to me ¬— “Ah, I know, different wife every day!”

You’re probably wondering what the heck that means? It’s a shorthand term we’ve used through the years to remind each other to really “see” our spouse. People change every day, every moment, yet when we get lazy we carry around an old snapshot of our spouse the way they were last month or last year rather than noticing and appreciating the small shifts. By reminding ourselves “Different wife every day,” we remember to keep our eyes open to each delicious twist, turn and surprise the other has to offer as a constantly evolving human being. If he keeps looking, one of these days he may even see me wrap the Christmas ornaments!

Find your own Pearls: For one day, really notice your spouse (or kids) and look for one thing that surprises you.

Pearls For Writers: Are you making any assumptions about your writing, or its quality, based on who you were last week or a year ago? What would it be like to sit down and write, ready for the surprise a new aspect of you has to reveal?

This entry was posted on Friday, November 14th, 2008 at 10:04 am and is filed under Life Coaching. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.