Miss Matched, I think not.

My wife and I are alike in many ways. We also have some glaring differences.

What happen the other day is a perfect example.

I mentioned to her that her computer was a work computer that was supplied by her company. It had a lot of restrictions. It was not a good place to store your personal documents. The company likes everything on the computer to be work related.

She doesn't use a computer much when she is not working. She likes to have one handy in case she wants to google for some arcane tidbit of information or do her Quicken budget. So it is handy to have her own personal computer. I suggested that she could do it on my MacBook. That did not go over well. She is a PC person. I am not.

She mumbled something under her breath about Mac's. I was all over her like maggots on a Calcutta carcass. We tossed insult back and forth about each others computer.

Words were bantered about such as infidel, nerdface, geekbreath, blue screen of death,

and several other niceties. Then things started to get a little contentious.

The next thing I know, we are rolling on the floor trying to get to each others throats and other vital organs by any means possible. She was getting the upper hand.

At that point I thought it was wise to make a suggestion.

"How about if I buy you a computer?"

The tightness of her grip relaxed from around my neck.

"Ok!!!!" She smiled and stood up.

Hah! I had won this round.

She will not see that computer until Easter.

I will research it. Which one will fit her needs? I must get the most computer for my money. I will start saving next week for it while I am doing my research. If I put all my change in money jar and throw in a dollar bill here and there and throw in a five at Christmas, I am sure she will have one by Easter. Good Plan.

I got to my feet and dusted myself off.

"Let's go", my wife starts walking towards the front door.

"Where?" I croaked.

"To the computer store."

....Oh...oh!!!

Here is the deal. I wanted a GPS. This was in early May. I did my homework. I investigated all type GPS's.

I got to know the products. I even got to know "Dave" from Garmin in Kansas.

I saved about $11 dollars a week. I was picking soda cans out of garbage at the beach.

I had a plan. In October I purchased my GPS.

My wife kinda motivated me to get it. She would say things like, "Are you going to buy that GPS before you die?" Hmmm! that was a good question.

So now we are at the computer store. My wife looks at a couple of computers, ask a couple of questions and as quick as that she says, "I'll take the purple one. Purple is my favorite color. Isn't it pretty?"

Huh? What? When did I lose control of this situation. Oh, that's right. I never had control of the situation.

You have to understand something. My wife's profession.

She is a computer systems analyst. She bases her work decisions on logic.

Algorithms, FORTRAN, COBOL, flow charts, and other mysterious stuff. You would think this would be a case of logic prevailing, after all, this is computer stuff.

What was the logic? It was purple, her favorite color.

Well, as it all turns out, she is really very happy with her purple computer. I should have known. After all, she is referred to as "The Purple Princess of Programming" by some of her colleagues.

The bottom line is that we balance each other. We usually meet somewhere in the middle. We compromise. If it wasn't for her nothing would happen. If it wasn't for me, too much would happen.

We now buy a good car and keep it 7 years instead of trading it every year. We would not live in this nice Townhouse if it wasn't for her, now if I can get to stay more than 3 years in the same place it will be wonderful. She does not have to follow that Montreal tradition of moving every July 1st. It's a tradition that became a habit for her. She is an expert on the logistics of moving.

But it all works out.....eventually.