Okay, after 27 years together, Randy and I still find that we don’t completely understand each other.
The squirrel ears for instance.
My coworker had to have some pretty major foot surgery. She couldn’t put even an ounce of weight on her foot for a couple of months.
After weeks of living in a recliner, she was struggling.
She told another woman we work with that her best time of day was when the squirrels would play in her front yard. Her chair was by a picture window, so she had a good view of the squirrels.
A group of us decided to dress up like woodland creatures and prance on her front lawn to cheer her up. I went ahead and got a squirrel tail and ears because that seemed to be her preferred rodent.
We made her happy. She didn’t expect it.
I mean, really, our boss showed up in a rooster mask. Who expects that?
So, I have had these squirrel ears since last fall and, the other day, Randy quizzed me about them.
Randy: You know how you put those squirrel ears on every morning when you’re getting ready for work?
Me: Yeah?
Randy: Why do you do that?
Me: I use them to pull my hair back before I put on make up.
Randy: I figured there was a pragmatic reason.
Me:…
Me:…
Me: Ummm…why did you think I wore them?
Randy: You weren’t putting them on to be sexy?
Me:…
Me:…
Me: You have known me for 27 years now
Randy: Yes.
Me: Do I seem like the type of person to put on squirrel ears on, every morning, five days a week, for about 10 minutes at a time for months to be sexy?
Randy: Not so much.
Me: It’s even worse than you think. I don’t just use them to pull my hair back. I used to use hair bands, but they get lost in all the stuff on my desk. I can’t miss the squirrel ears. They’re easy to find.
Randy: Double whammy.
Me: Yeah, I have two reasons for wearing them and neither of them are sexy.
Randy: I still like it though.
Me: Freak.
Me: Okay, that’s sort of adorable that you thought that. Weird, but sort of adorable.
Perhaps, sometimes we have to search to find out new things about the person we’ve lived with for years.
But sometimes, it’s just the squirrel ears.