How Much Does Your Better Half Notice???

So this took place a long time ago, but it's a funny story to share none the less. I was newly married. My best friend was sharing a home with "The totally wrong guy" (hereafter referred to as "Dud" for short.) My husband, "Devo" for anonymity sake and I were to meet BFF and Dud for dinner one evening. BFF and I had been talking about what we were going to wear, and I mentioned that Devo wouldn't notice anyway so it really didn't matter. She said that Dud (for all his faults) would notice...because he always paid attention to appearances.

Now lets digress for a minute here. Lest you think I'm just going to be another wife using a blog to air all of her dirty laundry...let me say that Devo is the best thing (outside of our two kids) that's ever happened to me. He's the ultimate provider, involved father, keeper of secrets, trusted advisor, loving spouse, and devoted family man. I couldn't ask for anyone better to share this life with. He makes me laugh, he makes me proud, he drives me crazy, and he treats me right. In so many ways...he is detail oriented...his job, attention to finances, attention to football stats, heck...anything that truly interests him. But he is definitely NOT interested nor even really concerned with what I wear. Don't get me wrong, he definitely has opinions like "don't just wear plain t-shirts" or "I like your hair long", but really paying attention...let's just say he doesn't.

To some that may seem to be a dream. Theoretically I guess you could say I'm lucky. I could probably buy an entirely new wardrobe and he wouldn't notice. I could sneak in new shoes every week and he wouldn't even bat an eye. But, the flip side of that is that I could walk out of this house looking like a complete moron and he wouldn't say a word. In fact...it happened years ago, but I'll get to that in a moment.

Now my BFF, as I mentioned, was living with Dud. Dud was loud, obnoxious, rude, and condescending, but for all these faults I guess he had some endearing qualities that I was never privy to. Apparently one of these attributes was paying attention to how BFF looked. I guess he was complimentary. I hope so anyway. But BFF and I made a little wager to compare if Dud and Devo were really who we were describing. This particular night, we set up a little experiment. We might have even wagered a little money on it.

So...this is how it was to go. I was going to wear a casual knit top (yeah...probably one of the aforementioned tees) with jean shorts. But...instead of tennis shoes or sandals, I wore my white satin wedding heels. BFF was going to dress up a bit more. She wore a shirt and mini skirt. But...instead of pairing her outfit with heels, she was going to wear her basketball high tops from high school.

This is how it went down. I walked out of the bedroom of our apartment in my casual get up and fancy shoes. I made quite the show of strutting around the apartment gathering up my purse, my plastic bag holding my real shoes, etc. Devo said nothing. We left our apartment on the second floor, walked across all of the wooden planks to the stairwell with my heels catching in every other slat, and still nothing. Walked noisily along the concrete to the car. Nothing. Got in the car, crossed my legs, and waved my foot around. Still nothing. Drove 20 minutes to BFF and Dud's place. Never a word. As we pulled into the driveway and parked, I finally turned to Devo and said "Are you really going to let me go out in public like this?" He said "what...the shoes?" "I was kind of wondering why you were wearing those", he said.

We go on up to BFF's door. Dud answered. We go in and there's BFF in her mini skirt with very appropriate shoes on. I questioned why she didn't wear the high tops. She replied that she hadn't even walked out the bedroom door and Dud had already said "Why are you wearing those shoes with that outfit?" It was true. We really knew our men. Thankfully, if that's the only complaint I have with Devo, that's relatively minor (and can even be nice as I mentioned before). Just think...I could wear sweats to Tony's and Devo wouldn't care (though Tony's would!). And really...I find great comfort in the fact that Devo loves me for who I am. Not for what I wear or how I dress. He's happy to be with me no matter what kind of hair day I'm having, whether my outfit's too tight, or whether it's completely out of style. That's a pretty good thing for me to notice about him too. I'm a pretty lucky gal.

Oh...and on a final note. BFF did finally leave Dud and marry the other greatest guy on the planet. I think we're both pretty lucky, and I notice that we've been BFF's for over half our lives. Did I ever tell you how that friendship started? Maybe next blog!