Pinterest Saved my Marriage

I was a bad husband. After ten years of marriage I became a sloth. It didn’t happen overnight but slowly, when I wasn’t watching. Instead of sharing the responsibility of the relationship, I sat in the passenger seat, then the back seat, stretched out on a quest to watch the entire series of LOST.

We were both busy; me with a start-up idea that turned into a five-person company and her return to school to pursue a lifelong dream of becoming a chef.  We talked about having kids but after watching many friends divorce after having them, decided to take the path less traveled; let someone else contribute to supporting our social security by the time we retire (if it’s still there.)

Our Sunday mornings were spent traversing Chicago for the best brunch-on-a-budget. And even when our bank account saw a dramatic increase, we continued to dine-on-a-dollar; a little reminder of where we came from.

But then one Sunday, a buddy had tickets to a Bears football game and I missed our outing. My wife totally understood and cheered for our home team from the couch while eating kale and potato hash with baked eggs and cheddar; a recipe she found on Pinterest. 

The following Sunday another buddy had an emergency; he got tickets to a Bulls basketball game. Once again, my understanding wife watched from the home front with loaded sweet potatoes and beer-candied bacon. Another recipe from Pinterest. And she was so cute about it, wrapping up my uneaten food and putting a smiley face on the outside of the aluminum foil.

She was always making me things and not just food: little photo albums of brunch-selfies; a documented history of my company; a necktie she completed while taking a class at a fabric store.

I kissed her big for that one but, even though I got a few compliments from drunken friends at a holiday party, I eventually shoved that tie deep into the recesses of the closet.