On My Own

I've never lived on my own. As a young child I lived with my mom, dad, and my sister. My parents split up when I was in 8th grade, so I lived with  my mom and sister when I got into high school. I had roommates in college, and then I got engaged, graduated, and moved into an apartment with my husband. We've lived together ever since.

I know some people think you get stronger and learn more about survival when you have some time to live on your own. I imagine that is true for many people. But I think I've gained similar benefits from living with my husband. I've learned so many things from him and being with him, that I can now do on my own, that I might never have learned otherwise. Not to say there's no chance I would have learned these things from other people in other situations, but I think being with my husband is what has made me stronger, turned me into a survivor.

One of the first things he taught me was how to change a tire. We were teenagers still, and he couldn't believe I was on the road driving without knowing how to change my own tire. I shrugged my shoulders and flashed my Triple A card! I know changing a tire is not anything unique, but it represents the first in many lessons I've gotten from him. He keeps a garage full of things, for which I often give him a ration of crap, but he can MacGyver out of so many situations. He really amazes me sometimes.

Probably most notable, is how rarely he panics. Few situations seem catastrophic to him, and I think it's because he has the real-world problem solving and survival skills we're always wishing kids would develop in school. A great deal of his repetoire is likely from watching his dad who is also from the MacGyver breed. My husband would also tell you that much of it comes form being a Boy Scout back in his younger days. It just seems like he knows just enough about a lot of things.

My husband inspires me to try and solve my own problems, and when I do, I feel pretty darn proud of myself. I wrote about the Jeep fiasco in my first Jeep Chronicles post. What I failed to mention is that my husband was out of town overnight. I know there was a time in my life I would have been frozen in my tracks and cried. Poor me, what will I do now? I honestly can't say what I would have done if I knew he was home. But I have been working out this problem all weekend. From sopping up the water, to taking measures over the past couple of days to fan it and completely dry it out (right now it's sitting in my driveway with door propped open so it can get some sun), so I don't get mold or mildew.

He's home now, and I haven't even told him yet. I'm pretty proud of the fact that if I decided not to tell him, he probably wouldn't ever know. I did that good of a job. Sounds silly and nonsensical I suppose. But I truly think being with him is what empowers me to try and solve some of the problems in my life that might stereotypically be relegated to the guy in a relationship.  I realize some people are forced to solve problems out of being alone. My mom took a plumbing class at the community high school, so she could learn the basics to avoid having to call a plumber for every little thing. She didn't have anyone to help her. And when she was younger, you can bet no one was encouraging girls or women to learn plumbing.

Other than my parents, no one empowers me more than my husband. He treats me like I'm super girl. He knows I can do anything I set my mind to. And he doesn't feel the need to swoop down and rescue me from everything (though he would if I asked). With his example and encouragement, and his garage filled with anything and everything, I can survive just about any fiasco my everyday life throws at me.