Welcome Guest Blogger Dan!

I know none of you were clamoring for the Poetess’ other half to chime in, but here it goes anyway.

One of the fascinating things about our relationship is how different we are in so many ways- and this morning one of them was revealed.

Beth may not have shared, but she is not really a morning person. She works so hard every day, on so many different things, that she is generally worn out at the end of the day, and needs her proper rest to recover. So when the alarm goes off in the morning…snooze bar!

This morning, while Beth soaked up a few more precious moments of rest, I decided to make the traditional Sunday morning oatmeal, after first checking with Beth to make sure I had the recipe right. (1 cup of oatmeal, 3 cups water, on the stovetop).

I thought I was being extra chef-like, and added the raisins, crushed pecans, maple syrup, and soy milk creamer into the perfectly cooked oatmeal on the stove, stirred and heated through. Just the way I like it- and assuredly, the way Beth would prefer it too. Right? Wrong!

I was quite surprised when I was fishing for complements about my wonderful preparation, when Beth revealed how she truly prefers it.
Here is how Beth likes her oatmeal- with all those good bits floating on the top- so that the first couple of bites are mostly cold soy milk creamer and maple syrup. Then later, she pushes aside some pecans for last, so that she has a few left for the very last bite or two. It’s fine with her that some of the middle bites are just plain oatmeal. In a thousand years I never would have imagined it!

Beth was careful to complement my effort so my spirit would not be crushed- but to also to make sure I knew how she really preferred it and why. I have seen Beth eat oatmeal 50 times in her preferred way- but I always assumed it was a way to shorten the cooking time to not be late on her way to rehearsal, and no other reason.

I look forward to many more years of discovery, and challenging my own assumptions about even the simple things in life.

So there you have it. The first ever guest writer installment of Musings of a Dancing Poetess has spoken. Have a great holiday season and go Warriors!