Danny & Annie from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

One of the greatest fears that I have is Death. No, not for myself – although there are times when I do wonder what would happen to my soul but that is strictly an existential conundrum – but more of what I would do if Mr Thick dies first.

I know, it’s not exactly the most romantic of things to think about your loved one but it’s hardly surprising coming from me because my own dad passed on 23 years ago, leaving my mom to bring up two kids by herself. Death may not be a close concept to many people (and you should feel blessed!) but it’s real to me.

I’ve always told Mr Thick that he had better not die before I do because there is no way I could go on without him. Oh, I am pretty sure he can survive on his own two feet without me. He may even go on and find somebody else (in which case, he can definitely expect a nocturnal visit from his very dead, very pissed and very ghostly wife). But me, nah. I could possibly live without him but why would I want to do that when being with him brings me so much joy every day?

But I digress. The clip above tells the story of Danny and Annie. They talk about their 27-year-old romance, from their very first date to his final days with terminal cancer. It’s so beautiful, touching and poignant. Two years after recording this interview and on the day that it was broadcast on public radio, Danny died.

I’m not embarrassed to say that I cried while watching this.

Like most men, food is the way to husband’s heart. He loves his food and well, looking at him, you can tell that he’s a man who enjoys eating and has been fed pretty well. Uh-hmm.

ANYWAY, I have been on his back to lose weight in the past 10 years but the dude just never seems to find the motivation. Despite his doctor telling him plainly that he needs to shed 20kg, he has remained largely ambivalent, which just drives me – the thin one in the equation, of course – absolutely nuts. He would sign up for 10km runs, telling himself that he would train for the race. The end result, as we can guess, is that he doesn’t train for the runs and winds up dragging his Xkg heft across the finishing line in pain.

This time, though, the ammunition seems to be enough to get his ass fired up and running. Firstly, the endocrinologist that he is seeing has said Dude, you gotta lose weight. And since we are paying so much money to see a specialist, we would be damned fools for not listening to what he has to say. Secondly, poor husband was made fun of by his eldest brother at a family lunch one Sunday. Over fried and oily dim sum, my brother-in-law pointed out the fact that he is six years older than husband and probably five times fitter. Which, unfortunately, is the truth.

And the feather on the cap? I went ahead and bought a Couch to 5k app on his iPhone. Granted, I bought it using his credits. But no, there really is no excuse for him to not do anything. Look, a 9-week programme to get you to run 5km without stopping! It’s all on your iPhone! Which you fiddle with every other minute! And it can work with your Nike+!

It must have worked because this morning, at 630 in the morning, he rolled off the bed, bade me a sleepy goodbye and went for a run.

Yay!

Lesson learnt: you have to talk geek to a geek.

Of course, now that I have put this up in the public domain, he has one more reason to keep chugging at this.

YEAAAAAH!

If you love this Google ad as much as I do (I think I shed a tear. Or two), then you will have as much fun as I did putting together the Google search story for ThicknThin!

See how it correlates to the story of us and put together your own story here.

(via KimberlyMichelle)

Yesterday, while I was having dinner with Beks, she asked me this insanely insightful question: How do you and Mr Thick get along in your marriage?

I was completely stumped, I couldn’t answer the question. I mean, we just get along splendidly (we have to, we are married!). Let’s put it this way: sometimes, he picks up after my slack and at other times, I do it for him. We sort of balance each other in the sense that we pick up where the other left off. Like, I feed the cats and he cleans their litter box. I cook and he cleans. I book the tickets and he makes sure we have our passports. That sort of thing. We also laugh a lot AT and WITH each other.

But as do all relationships, ours is not the happily ever after. Marriage is fun, don’t get me wrong, but it’s also a hell lot of WORK. And sometimes, I get so mad at him for being a slob.

Just the other week, I was so pissed off with him for being a rude ass. He had gone off for his Saturday footy game with his mates and I stayed home to chill. But me being me, I couldn’t chill for too long without wanting to do something (ADHD runs in my family) so I put together a lunch for one, chucked the laundry into the wash, took it out and put it out to dry, took the laundry in and folded the clothes, cleaned the kitchen, fed the two bratty furry things living with us AND had my lunch while reading the papers. All within, oh, three hours. Can you tell how proud of me I am? By the time he was done and we were due to meet, I was hot, stinky and in need of a shower. Instead of me going out to meet him, he decided that I was taking too long and drove back to pick me up.

The first words that he said to me as he stepped into the house were, “Wah, so slow.” I wanted to PUNCH him, I swear. While he was having fun with his friends, I was CLEANING OUR HOUSE. Stupid man. Luckily, he later bought me a nice cup of mocha at Shots cafe AND went to Tangs with me to get our Le Creuset 4.5 qt French oven so I forgave him. Cos I am nice like that.

Lots of lurrrvin'

One week ago, husband and I had our eyes tested. Today, as I sit typing this, I am not wearing any glasses nor do I have contact lens on. I have perfect vision.

It was an impulse – but one that was thought hard and long. Sounds ironic? Well, I’ve always wanted to undergo the necessary surgery to correct my vision but I either did not have the money or the will for it. But once the wheels were set in motion, I just jumped into the flow of things and didn’t look back.

Along the short, quick journey, I suddenly came to the realisation that I was so very glad we were just the two of us. This may sound completely selfish but I think it’s a thought that many couples who do have want to have children have.

And that’s the freedom we enjoy.

We wanted to get our eyes tested, we just hopped onto the bus and did it. I wanted to go ahead with the surgery, and I didn’t have to worry about the repercussions it may have on our child or his/her standard of living. We want to head to London to catch West End musicals, to go up to Manchester and cheer on United at Old Trafford, to take the train to Paris and soak up the Parisian way of life – and we are planning to. We want to watch the upcoming match between Argentina and Germany, and we will do so at the nearby Harry’s Bar.

I could go on and on but there you have it – with no strings attached, with no – dare I say it – burden to make us think twice, thrice. It made me realise that it was perhaps a good thing that we are, as yet, childless, because there is so much out there that we would love to do.

Don’t get me wrong, we want to have a family soon. But maybe, just maybe, this long wait is God’s way of telling us that we are not ready for a child and we should learn to appreciate our life and each other more.

Because I am enjoying myself, Mr Thick and I are madly in love with each other, and I love this life.