for a few weeks every august, my wife jennifer and i are the same age. her birthday is in early august, mine is at the end of the month. but after that, i regain my status as the eldest Walker in our household.

and while we may be the same age for 18 days, my wife and i are very different. many people think different is a bad thing when looking for a spouse, but i like different.

when i was single, i thought that i wanted to find someone just like me. but after a while, i realized how boring that is. i don’t even like to be around me all the time.

then i met jennifer. she was intriguing. she was different. she captured my attention.
i’m an introvert, she’s an extrovert.
i have difficulty making small talk with strangers, strangers come up to her and reveal their life stories.
she can function in chaos, i need order.

i always say that i could live in a cave, but she keeps dragging people into the cave.

sometimes our differences can be annoying.
like when i’m ready to leave, and someone is sharing their life story with jennifer.
or when i just want to sit at home and watch a movie, and she wants to go somewhere.
or when she wants to redecorate, and i just want to hoard money.
or the one time i tried to organize her side of the closet. (notice i said one time.)

but the reality is that our differences make us better.

i’ve learned to tolerate the chaos of raising three boys because of jennifer.
she has learned the value of having down time because of me.
although i gripe about getting the house ready for guests, i always have a great time when they come.
if a conversation ever hits a dead end, jennifer knows how to keep it going.
our home is a warm, inviting place because of jennifer’s touch.

i don’t want to be married to a clone of me. honestly, i don’t think i could live with myself. but i’m sure glad jennifer thinks otherwise.

now, we do have some things in common. we’re not total opposites. but the more people get to know us, the more different we may seem.

there’s a line from the movie as good as it gets that always resonates in my head when i think of jennifer. jack nicholson says to helen hunt, “You make me want to be a better man.”

that’s what we do for one another. we bring out the best in each other, and the main way we do that is from how each of us is uniquely made.

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