It has been a long time since I have looked at a compatibility test. They can be useful for dating couples to evaluate their long term prospects, but they are of no help to married people. You do not have to be married long to realize you and your spouse are incompatible. Taking the test is like rubbing salt in a wound. The real test is finding out how to handle those incompatibilities. I knew from the beginning that Reed and I have different outlooks on life (Reed--pessimist, Connie--optimist). Although we both like to read, we do not like the same kind of books, nor do we share the same taste in music, clothes, hobbies or any of the other things compatibility surveys usually ask. Our fellow students at the Bible college where we got together would probably have voted us "Least Likely Couple". Forty four years of marriage should be enough to prove them wrong. Nevertheless, there are a few questions it would have been good to settle at the outset, such as the following:
1. When picking up a Costco sized container of Nestles Quik, you should:
A. Grab the lid held on by 1 1/2 twists of plastic.
B. Use the large hand grip molded into the back of the container.
C. Support it from the bottom.
2. The best way to pick up glass or plastic jars or bottles is:
A. By the lid.
B. By the body of the container.
C. Anything but A.
3. When placing prepared food, such as a juicy casserole or garnished dessert in the car, you should:
A. Set it on the sloping car seat.
B. Place it on the flat car floor and/or mat.
C. Hold it in your lap.
4. After removing a wet, sweaty hat from your head, you should:
A. Lay it on a microfiber couch, chair pads or tablecloth.
B. Place it on a non-porous surface like a counter, hearth or vinyl furniture.
C. Hang it on the chair back where you hang shirts.
5. When descaling a tea kettle with CLR, which may cause leaking, it is best to place it:
A. On a faux granite tile countertop.
B. On a metal stove top, stained cookie sheet or scrub sink.
C. In an old bucket where CLR can do double duty.
6. The best place to empty 2 gallons of dehumidifier water is:
A. The shallow bathroom sink with a small drain.
B. The toilet.
C. The yard.
7. When asked to grill fish on the barbecue, you should:
A. Assume that, for the first time ever, it should grill on a new cookie sheet.
B. Cook it on the foil it is setting on, not the cookie sheet.
C. Cook it on one of the silicone mats, made for grilling.
8. When reheating leftovers in the microwave:
A. Use a serving spoon to move them from the microwavable container they are in to another of the same size before heating and eating all of it.
B. Heat them in the microwavable container they are in, unless you don't plan to eat all of it.
C. Use a paper plate.
9. When blowing dust off the vacuum filter with an air compressor, stand:
A. Next to the cleanest car.
B. By the dumpster.
C. Next to the dirtiest car.
10. The best place to remove shoelaces from old shoes is:
A. The dining room tablecloth, no bending over, table stays clean.
B. The floor, hearth, washer/dryer top, chair, stool etc.
C. The table, if needed, can be easily wiped off.
If these examples seem a little specific, it is because they are a few of the real life compatibility issues we have had through the years. Reed is all A's, I prefer B's, but will settle for C's. They could title my test "Why would you even think that?" These differences would not have been deal breakers on our future as a couple, but it might have headed off a lot of head scratching over, what I call, Placement Dyslexia. But the most important answer is that God has placed us together and, side by side, we face the tests of life. That is the only kind of compatibility that truly matters.
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