Bored: 'Tired of and slightly annoyed by a person or situation that is not interesting, exciting, or entertaining'
Seldom am I ever bored. If the kids ever admit to being bored I ‘allow’ them to scrub the kitchen floor. Hence I seldom hear them say that they are bored. I get to clean the floor myself.
My husband, on the other hand, is never bored. His brain is always going at full speed. Occasionally he has trouble quieting his mind down in order to sleep.
My husband, on the other hand, is never bored. His brain is always going at full speed. Occasionally he has trouble quieting his mind down in order to sleep.
If Steve isn’t thinking about work, he’s thinking about cars. When he was younger he thought about fighting in wars. A lot. He says he doesn’t think about battle scenes as much now. I asked him why he didn’t join the military after high school. He said that he didn’t like people telling him what to do. Good reason to stay out of the service.
He does still watch wars movies over and over and over again. Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Black Hawk Down, Hamburger Hill, Apoculypse Now. I am sure there are more. I don’t watch them. I struggled through Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan with my eyes covered for much of the movie. That was fifteen years ago.
I remember asking my hubby, one day shortly after we were married, what he was thinking about. He became embarrassed and said, “Nothing.” He was so flustered that I immediately assumed it was something of an intimate nature. He assured me it wasn’t. Which hurt my feelings a bit, but I survived.
“Then what?” I asked.
Steve mumbled and ducked his head. I now recognize that motion as him trying to hide from a subject he doesn't wish to discuss.
He commented on the weather.
“No, seriously! What were you thinking about?” I persisted. I had yet to learn.
“War.” More head hanging.
“War? What do you mean ‘war’?”
My husband began to actually explain in detail the war scene that was playing out in his mind. After the second sentence I stopped him.
“Are you serious?” I exclaimed.
He acknowledged he was. Subsequent questioning on other occasions confirmed that this was a regular thought process for him. It was as detailed as his ‘mind’ car projects.
I still will ask Steve what he is thinking about, but I no longer ask for details. Leaves us both happy.
My fellow thinks about stories. Fortunately for me, I LOVE stories. Some of them have arcs that he's been working on for 15, 16 years. I'm even starting to get different editions of his stories. As the characters become more familiar, I'm learned how and when I get to chime in, and which moments, characters and scenarios are 'canon.'
ReplyDeleteI love his make-believe. One of our goals is to get his stories onto paper. The harshest criticism is to compare something to a story that already exists. One of our favorite things to do is take a late night walk through the city and let his imagination flow. It's bonding. :)