Weather It Is (Here and There (1))

Good Afternoon:

We're still enjoying a relatively cool spring, which is really good for mitigating water stress in plants (and we've got plenty potential for that because of our lack of winter rain).

Looking ahead, we don't see any real change, other than a bump up and then fall off in temperatures by about mid-week.  A bit farther ahead (or is it further?), there is a slight upward trend upwards in temperature, but it is not a linear (or even certain) thing.

These days when there isn't very much weather one has the opportunity to ponder. The other day I was "accused" of faking sympathy.  I was hearing that the countertops were too crowded.  Since this was the indirect result of Pesach reordering (that is: mess moving from one place to another, better known as entropy), there was really little I could do.  Without any obvious solution in mind, the best I could do was express my despair over the state of the counters.  However, it is not in the nature of men to dwell on unsolvable problems, but still (for Shalom Bayit) the necessary words of sympathy must and were expressed.

This reminds me of the time many years ago that I learned that "men need appreciation and women need understanding."  Immediately, I had the opportunity to put these wise words into action when I got an earful about how many diapers had been changed that morning (but not by me: who was taking a walk where I had the occasion to learn something new -- see above).  The old me would have said: "well, I changed a diaper yesterday, and took out the trash the day before. I also cleaned the kitchen..," all solutions to the problem of too much housework to do but also useful drivel (to wives at least).  Instead, I said: "wow, this seems like a really hard morning for you," which got a smile in return.

Of course, it is not enough to say you understand, it is also necessary at times (for men) to express understanding.  So, this got me thinking and I realised that with a little more rearranging I could clear the countertops, and I did.   True, I solved a problem, but I also expressed real understanding.

This (in a nutshell) is why marriage can be a challenge -- at least for men.  More on this later.

Shabbat Shalom,

Barry Lynn