Ode to Mark and Marriage to Same

I receive like 8,000 (yeah right, like I have that many friends) Facebook memes a day. (And if you’re not hip to the cyber speak, meme is defined as: a neologism used to describe a catchphrase or concept that spreads quickly from person to person via the Internet). Basically, it’s like herpes online. Memes go over your first born, your high school experience, name games, Google games, and everything else you can think of. I play some, I intend to play others and never actually do it, and lots of times I just ignore it and move on. This time I decided to play, and what better arena to play in than my blog? It’s my own little Lucas Oil Stadium. I know… could they have picked a worse name??? (Please read that with all of the inflection of a Chandler Bing sarcastic question.)

I am titling this little meme “Ode to Mark and Marriage to Same.”

What are your middle names?
Mark’s middle name is Edmond. Ha. Stifling laugh. Although, it’s his father’s name, so can’t laugh too much or will be cut out of the family. Mine is Ann. Can’t laugh at Ann, as it is 50% of the female population’s middle name. Lynn is the other 50%. I have two middle names and no first. Thanks, Mom and Dad.

How long have you been together?
We’ve been married almost four years (God, it feels like longer… and I mean that in a good way, honey. And yes, I said honey). We dated for a year and a half prior to our marriage. That involves a fraction to total up, so you figure it out.


How long did you know each other before you started dating?
I hired him about one year prior to our dating. If you’re ever single, get into HR. You get to interview and probe (I mean in a questioning interrogation sort of way) your future dates! Plus, you totally know how much they earn!


Who asked whom out?
Hmmm... I guess that would have been me?!?! We started out as friends, and one day we were both at work on a Sunday and decided to go to the art museum instead of working. I think that was my idea (faking intelligent and artsy only lasted about a minute). Mark now says its his idea. Whatever, Mark... no one cares.


How old are each of you?
I'm 30, and he's (ancient) 33 (although I had to ask him how old and it took him quite awhile to determine if he is 33 or 34). Senility is setting in.


Whose siblings do you see the most?
We both have 1 older brother (and I mean each… this ain’t Kentucky. All my Kentucky readers just deleted my butt). Mine lives in Kansas, and his lives in California. We see mine much more often, and will see him again in April! Woo hoo!


Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
I think our kids. I read in all the pregnancy and first year with baby books that your relationship gets really complicated with children. I didn’t really believe it, but it’s true. Jack, the 6 month old still wakes in the middle of the night, so we are still exhausted most of the time. Will has more energy than a room full of Jim Careys on no-dose and he requires constant attention to make sure he isn’t breaking himself and our house at the same time. And Tabbi. Tabbi is rough. So we struggle with child raising. Love them… kinda hate them sometimes, too. “Hi, CPS, it’s me again. Reading Lynn’s blog again. You might wanna head over there.”


Did you go to the same school?
Nope. He went to Arizona State and I went to Kansas State. Not quite the same.


Are you from the same home town?
Nope. He is from La La Land (yes… Cali-forn-I-A) and I am from Kansas. Again, not quite the same.


Who is smarter?
Aww geez. Who wants to answer this honestly and then have to pay the bill for the divorce attorneys later??? I would say we’re smart in different ways (take that for diplomacy, Hillary Clinton! I should be Secretary of State). He is techno savvy and mathy and sciencey. I am not. I am wordy, more deductive, and let’s just say common sense is not his friend. So, I win that battle hands down.


Who is the most sensitive?
Let’s just say I was diagnosed as “insensitive” when I was pregnant with Will and every person I told said “tell me something we didn’t already know.”


Where do you eat out most as a couple?
McDonalds? Taco Hell? We don’t go out as a couple often, so I wouldn’t say there is a place we go. Sad, huh?


Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Toronto for our honeymoon, which was a fab trip, but I hate to travel. HATE IT.


Who has the craziest exes?
I am pretty sure that isn’t a contest at all. One us has had one past serious relationship. The ex has a Masters Degree in Library Science and works at a university library (or so says Facebook). The other ex (who has been married four times now) mooches off their significant other (specific gender not required), once described herself as a Wicca (so I can call her the Wicca Witch of the slightly Northwest of us), and likes to have zero parental responsibility for the kid she shares. Oops, all those pronouns gave it away, huh???


Who has the worst temper?
Hmmm…. Temper? Who has a temper? Not me. Ok, yeah me. I’ve been known to flip a lid over, well, anything. Tee hee… its part of my charm. Right? Seriously, right????


Who does the cooking?
That’s me...part of the arrangement for giving up my career upon Will’s birth. I pretty much decided the day he was born that I was not going to put him in daycare to go back to work. Mark wasn’t too on board, because he was all “gosh, maybe we should be able to pay our bills.” So, the way to a man’s everything is through his stomach and now that I cook, and we don’t care about bills!


Who is the neat-freak?
I wouldn’t say a neat freak… but life is better when crap’s not laying around my house. That’s all I’m sayin’.


Who is more stubborn?
Uh yeah, that should have been under my middle name answer.


Who hogs the bed?
This isn’t painting me as a very good person. I better make a mental note to remove this if I am ever husband shopping again. No one will want me! This would be me again, although more often than not he hogs the covers. Does that count for anything?


Who wakes up earlier?
Mark. He does mornings. I do noons. I used to do noons… now I do mornings too. See temper category. It is exponentially worse the earlier in the day.


Where was your first date?
The first outing we actually called a date was to Chili’s (I know, he spoils me) and then to watch a movie at his apartment.


Who is more jealous?
Who is there to be jealous of? No one else wants our crazy selves!


How long did it take to get serious?
It didn’t take me long to decide he was “the one.” I am a quick decision maker about everything. In hindsight, maybe I should spend more time on the serious stuff.


Who eats more?
The Mark eats. He is an eater, although when I was pregnant… it could have been a tie.


Who does the laundry?
Me. Again, that stays home mom agreement. I’m a slave, people!


Who's better with the computer?
Me. Ignore the fact that Mark is a professional IT dude who earns all the money we live off from his professional ITing. And, ignore the fact that last night I lost a whole tool bar and he had to find it for me. Really, I am a computer wiz!


Who drives when you are together?
This is weird to most people, but it depends on the car. If it is his car, he drives. If we are in my car, I drive. My car is the bigger one with the car seats, so we take it more often, so I drive the most. But, it really is car related.


Feel free to answer some or all of the same questions about your significant other in the comments, or leave a link to your website if you prefer answering there. I would love to see what the other insane (I mean married) folks are like.