Why I’m glad I married an engineer, part 1

So, not that anyone asked, but today I just feel like doling out some relationship advice.

There are a lot of times and places where I’ve complained (and probably will complain) about The Spouse’s tendency to accumulate electronic equipment, and his enduring loyalty to same. (Examples: the two tons of stereo surround-sound that are attached to our television; the eleventy thousand pieces of computer paraphernalia—working and not—crammed in the home office…See, I told you!).

If you are currently dating or considering getting serious with someone of the engineer persuasion with similar habits, you might find this annoying. One day, while listening to a 15-minute discourse on the attributes of, say, a particular brand of carafe coffee pot because it keeps coffee warmer longer and without requiring the electronic base to remain on, thus scalding the coffee and ruining the flavor, you might be thinking, ‘Really, is it that big a deal?’

But, I tell you now, there will come a time on, say, a Sunday morning, when you will be exhausted from taking care of a sick and cranky toddler. When you will realize that you are in the middle of an unprecedented hour or so of free time to relax and read a book,* that the only thing that would make this hour more perfect were if you could have a second cup of coffee. Yet, you brewed that coffee like six hours ago and the pot long ago switched itself off. You could brew another one, or reheat a cup in the microwave (both of which might wake the baby). You hesitate, decide it’s worth the risk, and then pour a cup from the carafe to find that, lo, it is *still* hot—at 11:45! All ready to go.

And, if you are anything like me, you will think, “I loooovee thiiis maaaaan!!’ and start looking for a couch to jump up and down on.

I mean, I know I should love him because he kind, and stable, held my hand (and the bedpan) through 12 hours of labor; he’s a great father (see that footnote thing), and attentive husband, and because of that one time he decided to take a crack at fixing the broken central air unit after we got a $800 repair estimate—and he actually fixed the broken air conditioner unit**, etc., etc. But I truly thought, at that moment, that if he hadn’t ever done anything else for me besides by that damn coffee pot, it would totally be worth marrying him for.

*Because that same dude is good at getting her down for a nap, even when she’s way overtired and screaming like she’s possessed by the devil.

**I know, right? That was so awesome I still impressed  four years later. But, yeah, I still like the coffee pot more. What can I say? I’m shallow and self-centered.