Light Bulb (or plug in) Moment

On Monday I was having a really bad day. Kelly hadn't called since Friday morning which didn't really have me worried so much (well, maybe a little, hello, Iraq!) as just frustrated not knowing why he hadn't called. When I was blow drying my hair my blow dryer quit working. I thought it had died but after some investigation discovered that the plugs in the bathroom weren't working. This is the third time the plugs have quit working which is super frustrating! After thinking about it all day I thought maybe I knew what the problem was. When we wired the upstairs (my dad, Kelly and me) we used the "easy" method of installing the wires into the plugs. You can either push them straight into the back (which is easy and quick) or wrap them around the screws on the sides of the plugs (harder and more time consuming). A couple of years after we finished the remodel I saw either an episode of "This Old House", "Ask This Old House" or an article in the magazine talking about the dangers of using the "easy" method. The wires can come loose or arc and short out and that happened in the other bathroom upstairs. So, I turned off the breaker to the plugs, took the plug out of the wall and I was right. One of the wires had arced and shorted out. I knew what to do to fix it but couldn't remember which way to wrap the wires. So I called my dad (who has worked as a construction contractor) and asked him.

Now for my "light bulb moment". As he is trying to explain it to me and I am trying to understand what he is telling me and trying to get him to understand what I'm asking I realize something. My dad is not a teacher and neither am I. My dad is a "doer". He has a hard time trying to teach and explain things and has little patience if you don't "get" it. I think this has made me hesitant to try things, worrying that I can't do them. Not that I blame my dad, I love my dad and just realize that with my own personality this has shaped this in me. My husband, on the other hand, is a great teacher. He is patient and explains things and doesn't get frustrated if you don't "get" it. In the earlier days of marriage it was like I was competing with him, trying to prove that I could do things for myself and that I didn't need him to teach me anything. It was hard as I came from a family with only girls and we were expected to do thing for ourselves and Kelly came from a family of all boys and if I would ask for help, instead of explaining something he tried to do it for me. This led to some battles. As years have gone by he has realized that I don't need him to come in and take over and I have learned to appreciate that I can learn things from him. It's so awesome how God puts two people who are so opposite from one another together and makes a beautiful, complimentary relationship!