Musings at Altitude

I realized this morning how much I really do live two lives – the one that is somewhat orderly, makes things neat, and follows a routine; and the other one that loves chaos, likes a mess, and truly enjoys change. 

The orderly life I lead is heavily (if not solely) influenced by my wonderful bride of almost 26 years.  She’s in Mississippi today, visiting our families, and yet, after brushing teeth, showering, and getting dressed, I followed the routine and did this:

I’ve been known to say, “why make the bed if you’re just going to sleep in it again?”  My natural tendency is to leave things in a pretty chaotic state and then only create order when something happens or something is needed that reduces the chaos or the disorder.

After realizing how important it was for me to follow my wife’s routine, I then left the bedroom and walked into my office:

This is more typical of the order of things in my life – not much order at all.  I’d show you a picture of the garage too, but I’m too embarassed to show that one!

It’s amazing (or maybe not amazing at all) how much those around us influence our actions and even dramatically change our typical behaviors. It’s even more amazing how within just a few yards in the same house in two very different rooms, the very different lives we lead can show themselves so visibly! 

You can see from these two pictures that I am heavily influenced by my wife in some areas of my life, and then not very influenced at all in others.  I’m actually very grateful and thankful for her influence in those areas where we “share space”, and then even more grateful and thankful that in other areas she gives me “my space”.