Earl

This morning I spoke to Earl, a retired police officer with personality. His stories are always entertaining and today's story did not disappoint. I mentioned to him that my training partner was always earlier than me in getting to the gym and he began telling me about his wife being born 15 minutes late.  He then proceeded to tell me that since he had been a cop, he always had to be early, which led him to the curative measure of tricking his wife-he would tell her that they had to be out the door for 8:30, which meant she was ready for 8:45 and they would arrive on time for 9.  Somewhere in the telling, I was delighted to hear him say that instead of getting mad at her, he created a way to make the situation ok for both of them, and of course, their long term relationship.  This playful accommodation of one another has persisted, and he proudly told me of a similar story spinning ability that his wife possesses.  This man has joy, playfulness, a fantastic sense of humour and repeatedly, he chooses relationship over fighting about being right and holding ground.  Earls timing is perfect, especially when he is joking.