Opposites Really Do Attract

They say opposites attract. While that is certainly true when discussing magnetic fields, I don't think most couples have nearly as many differences in their lives as they do things in common. Diane and I have many things in common. In fact, it was that vast area of commonality that brought us together in the first place. The Venn Diagram of our lives has a huge area of intersection; and we are normally not very far apart even in those areas where they don't intersect.

Differences add interest and, sometimes, intrigue to our life together. Sometimes, though, neither one of us can figure out just where the other person is coming from.

I speak of symmetry and order.

Symmetry and order are among the few things where Diane and I are total opposites. I positively adore symmetry and order. For example, I will actually measure (twice) when hanging a picture to ensure that it is precisely centered on a wall or over the object it hangs above. I would never dream of arranging furniture or hanging wall decorations in such a manner that could ever be construed as unbalanced.

Furniture must always be placed precisely parallel with - or at a right angle to - the walls in my orderly world. I carefully measured the distance between the rear posts of the shelving I installed in the garage last weekend and the wall studs to ensure that the three shelving segments would be exactly parallel to the garage wall over their entire eighteen foot run.

It must be that way or I would notice the variance every time I went into the garage and it would drive me nuts until I fixed it. It is better to do it right the first time than to have to take everything off the shelves to realign it later.

This trait drives Diane nuts. She loves to place pieces on a bias in a corner or even out in the main area of a room. A small hutch sits in the corner of our dining area. It is angled between the two walls. It is not designed to be a corner cabinet, which would be a different thing entirely, but Diane insists on having it angled rather than being (properly) aligned with either of the two walls. This is pretty much the standard for Diane.

Allow me to illustrate an example of how this trait drives me nuts. I am forced to watch television from a chair that is arranged at an angle to the television screen rather than perfectly parallel to it.

Why is that a big deal, you ask?

It's a big deal because it's not straight. I should be able to sit squarely in my chair with my line of sight directly perpendicular to the plane of the television screen.

It's just supposed to be that way.

Diane's arrangements of pictures or wall decorations can never have the edges aligned or be equally spaced across the wall space. Instead, they are arranged in a seemingly haphazard fashion that never allows the eye to settle on the beauty of alignment. I'm quite certain that she has never pulled out a tape measure when hanging anything on the wall. She also just levels things "by eye" instead of taking the extra moment to put a torpedo level on it to ensure that it is properly plumb and level.

Yes we are truly opposites when it comes to these important life issues, so I guess opposites really do attract.