Relationships...

The Loire Valley. That was the destination for the weekend. I have been in the valley almost 2 years ago, touring 3 castles in a day. It was a day trip organized by one of tour operators in Paris. This time, it was different because we were renting a car. Renting a car and driving cross country was exciting when I lived in the US. It is no more now. I don't know why, age or excellent connectivity if you look at other modes of transport. Anyways, the weekend turned out to be lesser of sightseeing trip and more of an eating expedition. Of course, dining is always accompanied by finer liquids that can be distilled or fermented. What can follow good food combined with alcohol? Peaceful sleep. As a result, I skipped the photo walk in the morning and slept it. If you have already written it off as a bad weekend, I request you to wait. No journey is complete without new learning. This journey was no different and the lesson was on relationships.

On Sunday, I was woken by a couple having an argument in the half-awakened state. I had no option but to hear what was going on as we were sharing an apartment. I was in the living room when the conversation with occasional downs and too frequent ups was happening in the adjoining bedroom. The husband was late to wake up and so he missed going out on the photo walk with the other photographers. The husband had even set the alarm. When he was scrambling to get ready, I could hear the wife pouting and defending her. "I tried to wake you up". If that was not enough, I could also hear a few seconds later. "Wear the other jeans. Your wallet is in that." Judging by the tone of the conversation, she hasn't even got up from the bed and trouble opening up the eyes.

Later that day during the late lunch, I observed a friend and his son. Though my friend is not strict on diet, he is very particular about what he eats. If I have to tell you about this, I will have to dedicate a book in his name. For the blog post, I will restrict by saying he is not the person who goes for oysters, escargots and other miscellaneous items which the French love to eat. We had ordered escargots and my friend promptly stayed away from the dish. His son was curiously eyeing the dish. The son looked at my friend. To my surprise, my friend encouraged his son, "You have to taste all kinds of food. Then develop your own likes and dislikes. So go ahead. Try it". As a result, his son tasted the first piece of escargot in his life.

When you compare these two events, they do not have any similarities. But is it really true? Both of these events tugged my heart. While fighting sleep and the husband's disappointment, why would the wife worry about a simple thing as his wallet? Why would a father ask his son to try out something he doesn't eat? Isn't that how relationships work?

Tags: Musings,Wife,Husband,Father,Son

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