Six months

Maybe things will slow down a little now.

I've mostly cleaned out my old house and gotten it ready to rent out. It's about time; I've been married for six months now!

For two middle-aged people used to living alone and doing things exactly their own way in their own houses, marriage is an adjustment.

I see no reason, for example, to store bath soap in the kitchen cabinet. It's not really very useful there. So, I store it on the bathroom shelf, and my adored tears the kitchen cabinet apart looking for soap.

He has a general policy against rearranging things.

My adored one likes routine. I get bored. When I drive to church, I always take the shortest, most direct route, so we can hopefully get there on time. I take various alternate routes on the way home, however, because I like to see what's going on around town. My adored sees no reason for this.

He thinks he can improve my driving and parking-space selection with various helpful suggestions he freely offers; I think not.

I'm a better driver, anyway.

I think he needs to get rid of more junk; he thinks I need to get rid of more junk. He likes animal fat; I explain why olive oil is better for my health and his.

But, my adored one has a great heart underneath his self-proclaimed "grumpy" old exterior. He makes me coffee in the morning. I even saw him pick up the bottle of olive oil to cook something the other day.