SHALOM BAYIT

Shalom Bayit is a venerable Hebrew expression meaning “peace in the household.”

Couples that have managed to stay married for a long time – f’r instance, She Who Must Be Obeyed and I, with a marriage that’s well into its 29th year – generally learn to master the art of maintaining Shalom Bayit.

You learn the art of compromise.

You learn to accept your mate’s minor flaws, and sometimes even a major one or two. [Not you, darlin’.]

You learn to live with your spouse’s leaving piles of mail and filthy clothing all over the house, and he learns to live with the occasional failure to replace the empty Bunwad Roll.

You learn to pick your battles, on those (rare) occasions when battles must be fought. And you learn to never go to bed angry, if at all possible.

If inconveniencing yourself in some way is necessary to keeping your Other Half happy, you do it...and you don’t piss and moan about it.

It’s give and take. Take and give.

It’s love.

Of course, here at Chez Elisson, I make use of some of the many valuable lessons I learned from my mother while she was alive, and those lessons have contributed mightily to Peace in Our Household.

Mom was a Master Shopper. It’s too bad she’s not around anymore, because she and our good friend Laura Belle are cut from the same cloth in that respect: members of the Legion of Those Who Happily Exchange Money for Goods and Services. I would give anything to be able to see the two of them lay waste to one of the local Shopping Malls. It is she who taught SWMBO that if you see something you like, buy it in at least two different colors.

And thus it is that I maintain peace in the household. When the Missus sees something she likes, I tell her to purchase it. Works every time...and my creditors love me for it.

Shalom? Buy it!