Yesterday, I finally went to the Epcot Center of home shopping, IKEA. Yes, the much-praised, extremely large place for all sorts of home things that's been in Frisco for years. Why did it take so long for me? I finally had a reason to go.
But years ago, I was afraid I would have to be dragged to this store, along with Bed, Bath and Beyond, all in the name of being in a relationship.
Thankfully, I was able to find those fears unfounded. I had no fear of going and actually had a great time.
As an early birthday gift, three friends of Diana's offered to buy her a few things from the store. I wanted to come along, first and foremost, and I had no problem with spending two hours walking around.
After looking around the top floor with all sorts of room set-ups, we grabbed a cart while perusing the bottom floor. As the four women in my company looked at what they could get for Diana's new apartment, I noticed quite a few men in my situation: pushing a cart slowly around.
Whether or not these guys were happy to be doing this, I could only speak for myself. I chose to be at the store and I chose to push that cart. And I chose to make suggestions as well. Never at any point did I feel lonely, bored, or whipped. I was happy to help out in any way that I could.
Too often, whenever I hear a guy talk about spending time with his woman doing traditionally feminine things, there's this sense that the guy didn't want to be there, but if he didn't want to be sitting at home all alone and sleeping alone all alone that night, he grins and bears it. Any desire the guy has to go do something he really wants to do is shot down. Because he doesn't want to be single or sleep alone that night, he hangs his head and says, "Yes, dear."
I am very happy to say I am not in that kind of situation.
In the case of our IKEA trip, Diana offered me dinner out at one of our favorite restaurants and we went to Half Price Books afterwords. Also keep in mind, she came with me to see the Dillinger Escape Plan, a band I never thought I would ever take a girlfriend to because of their sound, a couple of months ago. She loves to see me be passionate about doing things like writing, reading, watching bands play, and playing drums. In turn, I love seeing her be passionate about art, metal-smithing, reading, and writing. This is definitely a two-way street kind of relationship.
The more I choose to take a more positive attitude about life and enjoy being in this committed relationship, the more I understand something Charles Schulz once said: "happy isn't funny." I like to make cracks about sad, unfair things in life, and things are easier to describe when there's a lot of drama, tragedy, and unhappiness. But I think it sure is nice to experience something that isn't a soap opera or something out of a beer commercial. That kind of stuff might sell to other people, but not for me.
But years ago, I was afraid I would have to be dragged to this store, along with Bed, Bath and Beyond, all in the name of being in a relationship.
Thankfully, I was able to find those fears unfounded. I had no fear of going and actually had a great time.
As an early birthday gift, three friends of Diana's offered to buy her a few things from the store. I wanted to come along, first and foremost, and I had no problem with spending two hours walking around.
After looking around the top floor with all sorts of room set-ups, we grabbed a cart while perusing the bottom floor. As the four women in my company looked at what they could get for Diana's new apartment, I noticed quite a few men in my situation: pushing a cart slowly around.
Whether or not these guys were happy to be doing this, I could only speak for myself. I chose to be at the store and I chose to push that cart. And I chose to make suggestions as well. Never at any point did I feel lonely, bored, or whipped. I was happy to help out in any way that I could.
Too often, whenever I hear a guy talk about spending time with his woman doing traditionally feminine things, there's this sense that the guy didn't want to be there, but if he didn't want to be sitting at home all alone and sleeping alone all alone that night, he grins and bears it. Any desire the guy has to go do something he really wants to do is shot down. Because he doesn't want to be single or sleep alone that night, he hangs his head and says, "Yes, dear."
I am very happy to say I am not in that kind of situation.
In the case of our IKEA trip, Diana offered me dinner out at one of our favorite restaurants and we went to Half Price Books afterwords. Also keep in mind, she came with me to see the Dillinger Escape Plan, a band I never thought I would ever take a girlfriend to because of their sound, a couple of months ago. She loves to see me be passionate about doing things like writing, reading, watching bands play, and playing drums. In turn, I love seeing her be passionate about art, metal-smithing, reading, and writing. This is definitely a two-way street kind of relationship.
The more I choose to take a more positive attitude about life and enjoy being in this committed relationship, the more I understand something Charles Schulz once said: "happy isn't funny." I like to make cracks about sad, unfair things in life, and things are easier to describe when there's a lot of drama, tragedy, and unhappiness. But I think it sure is nice to experience something that isn't a soap opera or something out of a beer commercial. That kind of stuff might sell to other people, but not for me.
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