every man knows about the “point system” in marriage. see, you get points for doing things out of the ordinary and/or subtly expected. sometimes points may be received, for example, if you take your wife on a surprise date to her favorite restaurant. other times, points may be received if you simply do something that’s non-verbally expected, such as taking out the trash BEFORE she asks you to. it’s a complex yet incredibly simple part of any marriage. complex because you ALWAYS and NEVER know what will get you points, and simple because even the simplest thing can earn points.
another basic piece of knowledge about the point system is that everything (no matter how big or small) is ONE point. even when an action earns you “points” or “bonus points,” after carefully adding up the points one realizes it is in fact only ONE point. one would think that surprising your wife with a house entirely mopped, swept, and vacuumed (which i have never done) would accumulate several points. this would be an incorrect assumption, as all of these beautiful things combine to form ONE point. even if she says, “oh man…you get major points for this,” it’s still only one point. this example can also go to the other extreme. if you simply make a bootleg card out of construction paper and crayons that says, “i love you” on the front… one would naturally assume that this act would earn considerably less points than buying the wife 12 dozen roses. one would think the card would be 1/2 a point. this is not so. it is still ONE point.
another basic piece of knowledge: points can never be redeemed for anything. it’s not like earning tickets at Chuck E Cheese. there’s not counter at the end of the day, where you can count your tickets, turn them in, and purchase a spider ring, 2 Tootsie Rolls, and a glow-in-the-dark shark necklace. instead, there’s just a mindless stack of phantom points that have no formal or written currency. encouraging isn’t it! haha…
all this to say, i earned MAJOR point(s) when jamie returned from Haiti this weekend. (major = 1, of course) i painted her a painting, and had it hanging in our bedroom. you can see it here.
one point for aaron.
how’s your point earning going these days, gentlemen?
