Are we still married because we've never gone to bed angry?? Nope, we've never gone to bed angry.....because we stay up all night and argue.
Sorry, I couldn't resist the tired cheesy punch line. But the truth of the matter is that TH and I bicker. All the time. And THAT's why we are still married.
There are no pretenses in our relationship, no hidden hurt feelings, no silent treatment when one is angry. Nope...if one of us is upset, the other one will hear it... immediately. We don't swear at each other, ever. We are never disrespectful, and we try not to say anything we will ever regret. I know it bothers our sons when we bicker, but the bottom line is that we get it off our chest, whatever is bothering us...and then it's OVER. Case closed. We just don't stay mad or hold grudges.
But this weekend we discovered a new way to settle our battles...FENCING!
The idea for date #8 arrived in my email inbox from Groupon. $29 each for four lessons in fencing. Well, why not. Let's give it a try!
It turns out that beginner fencing classes for adults are at 10am on Saturday mornings. Not exactly date nite, but we are flexible. The fencing club is on the second floor of a large building complex in an industrial park in Wilmington....about a 30 minute drive. We arrive at 9:45 as instructed, but the office is locked, so we explore the second floor which is completely uninhabited....and under construction.
It appears we are the only ones in the building and it is pretty scary that we are able to walk around in such an unsafe environment. We eventually find a rec.room next door to the fencing club where TH and I spend the next 10 minutes playing ping pong until the coaches finally arrive and open the doors.
Fencing was a whole new world for us, and our date was a lot of fun. We met the owner who was an olympic pentathelete that competed in three olympiads for three different countries. Our coach was a young man from Bulgaria who really did a great job introducing us to all the equipment and etiquette of fencing. After some warm up exercises, we learned some basic footwork and practiced "touching" our targets. It was amazing how quickly we caught on. It felt like we were kids again imitating Errol Flynn or playing Three Musketeer sword fights...engarde!
Then we were ready to suit up. I got a big kick out of the protective armor that ladies wear under their jackets...made me feel like I was finally a 'C' cup. LOL
It was interesting to learn that men wear chest protectors also, but they do NOT wear protective cups. And, although every part of the body is fair game during the bout, apparently the family jewels are off limits...gentleman's etiquette.
After we were dressed, we plugged one end of our jackets into the epee, and the other into an electronic score box....and we were ready to bout.
The first fencer to reach five "touches" wins the bout. I won the first match, TH won the second, and I won the rubber game. YES.
Unfortunately, the hour lesson passed all too quickly. It was really enjoyable, and I was amazed at how much we learned in that first lesson. However, even though our Groupon entitles us to four lessons each, I'm afraid we won't be returning.
Because, really, what's the point? (no pun intended). After the 4 lessons...then what? It's not like we would join the fencing club, purchase the gear, or start competing. But it was fun while it lasted.
I guess it's back to bickering.
No comments:
Post a Comment