grrlTravels

Little theories relevant to nothing

I have lots of theories about life. Little ones, not the great big ones which explain everything. No, my theories have more to do with life's smaller mysteries. Theories about E.'s sleeping habits, the correct order in which to wash the dishes, why my computer crashes at random intervals, and about the furry thing that ran through the garage last week. (I'm actually hoping it was the muskrat who ate our new landscaping taking a little vacation from the lake.)

There's a well known premise that people often marry their opposites. My therapist once did confirm that two people with complementary neuroses are often attracted to each other. At first I was non-plussed by this, offended even. K. and I fell in love and got married because our neuroses liked each other? But the more I thought about it the more sense it made. This angle explains a lot about why some people seem to complement each other so well.

And so was born a little theory about us. You see, I often call K. a "girly-man" (much to his chagrin). And I believe that I am a women in touch with my masculine side. And I believe the fact that we are both more in the middle with respect to cultural norms of masculinity and femininity was one of the reasons we clicked. For example. K. has really too much patience for shopping and talking ad nauseum about feelings and suitable couch fabrics not have a touch of estrogen swimming in his veins.

And me? Well I love watching sports on tv. Love it! LOVE IT. I love football, love ice hockey and love tennis (perhaps a little girlier, but still). And I'm at a loss for a theory which suitably explains my love of sports besides the fact that I was and still tend to be very competitive. But that can't be the whole picture.

I flip-flop as to whether my consuming love of football is "normal" for a woman or not. Sometimes I feel right with the world, accepted even with my strange affinity for competition. Then my cousin (Hi, H., if you're reading these days) sent around one of those dumb (pardon me, Fun! and Informative!) questionnaires that go around on email every so often. Usually I ignore all junk, but lots of family members were responding and it seemed too grumpy not to jump in. One of the questions was "What is your favorite sport to watch on tv?" And without fail every single female answered either "figure skating" or some variation of "none of the above". Except me, of course. I was at home trying to decide if I like football more because hockey wouldn't have really started yet and there is a lockout this year or if I really just do love football the most.

So anyone who has a theory about why people love professional sports, feel free to send it along. I've spent a long time in therapy, and don't think this burning question will be resolved by my therapist any time soon. We're a little preoccupied working on the aforementioned neuroses.

Posted by grrlTravels at October 16, 2004 5:47 PM