Rings around the Collar - Stories

THE WORKAHOLIC

Cindy was attracted to him, to his sense of humor, his kindness, gentleness, respectful attitude towards her, and especially to what appeared to be a genuine spirituality. That night she already knew she might have a future with Brad so she prayed and prayed: "Dear Lord, take this judgment away from me because I cannot imagine myself with an auto mechanic. What would the world think? How can I feel good about this?"

Cindy, on the other hand, thought she was giving Brad what he needed-someone to believe in him even when he didn't believe in himself. ...She also gave him the monetary peace of mind to continue on for six years without making a profit.

THE PARADOXICAL

Kim's parents did not approve of Bob. They wanted her to marry a white collar professional and Bob was far from that. He was a high school drop out in a low paying dead end job. They liked him personally, just not his station in life.

The love of their children is their foremost value. Matthew and Andrew have always come first. Kim and Bob share the same parenting philosophy and never contradict each other. They discuss the issues and then present a united front.

THE DIRECTOR

"How do you feel about the fact that you're going to be to be a doctor and your husband is just a finisher?" a professor asked Diane during her medical school interview. She was rattled by the question.

"He's not just a finisher. It's just a job. He doesn't have a problem with it," she told the professor.

"We don't have any preconceived notions of the roles we should be playing," Diane said. They regard each other as equals and best friends. "Neither one of us feels any one of us is better or worse than the other," she continued.

THE CAREGIVER

TJ was her blue collar guy. She liked the fact that he was a truck driver because it made him appear rugged. He had no airs about him and life was simple, at least for him. Susan was at a point in her life where she needed life to be simple for her also. He met that need.

His lifestyle was putting them in financial and marital jeopardy.

"I was the caregiver, the mother, the rubber band, that kept things together. That's not good for a relationship. It was totally unbalanced. He lived with it and used it and we grew apart," she continued.

THE DRIVER-EXPRESSIVE

They both wear the pants in the family and all their money goes into one pot. However, she "keeps track of the money and worries about it." Todd will not hear of a budget. "That is just an offensive word to him. He's not irresponsible with money, he just doesn't want to try and stick with a budget," Holly said. As a youngster, he witnessed his family's strict budget and vowed that he would never have one.

Holly doesn't believe it bothers Todd one bit that she makes more money than he.