More Evidence that They're from a Different Planet

Remember the whole "Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars" stuff that was going on eight or ten years ago? I read a couple of the books. They made a few good points, but mostly I found them.... well.... boring and repetitive.

Mostly, Sweetie and I see eye-to-eye on things. Sure, we have our little squabbles, but he is my soul mate and my best friend. But (of course, there had to be a but) every once in a while, something will happen, and I'm in disbelief at his reaction, and I wonder, "What planet is he on?" It's not that I'm right, and he's wrong; it's just that we seem to see it completely differently.

For instance, early this week I got a letter from Pipsqueak's school. She's in a multi-age class of K-2. Next, year the kindergartners will be separate and Pipsqueak's teacher, Mrs. W, will become a straight K teacher. We had expected to have her for a third year. Her class will be split between two other teachers, and Pipsqueak will be in a 1-2 class. I filled Sweetie in so we could tell Pipsqueak after dinner. "Why do you sound so grave?" he asked. "Grave" may have been a stronger word than what I was feeling, but I wasn't happy about the news. I love Mrs. W and the way she teaches, Pipsqueak loves her, too. She would be in a different room, with a different teacher, with different ways of doing things, with different kids and separated from some of the kids she's been with for two years, two of which are her best friends. I knew there would be tears, fears, questions and adjustments.

We told her, and I tried to sound upbeat about it. Of course, she cried. I comforted her and made suggestions for adjusting to this, like her and I meeting with her new teacher, touring the classroom and discussing how she does things. Sweetie said things like,"Change is good," and "Life is full of changes." I don't know who helped more or if it was the collaboration, but she seem to have accepted her fate.

The next morning at school, one of the other moms, Leah, and I got teary while talking to Mrs. W. Leah called me later and we discussed the whole situation: what we knew about the other teachers and the students in the other two rooms. She said her husband, like mine, thought it wasn't a big deal, and had said the same things Sweetie had said.

I didn't understand his laissez faire attitude when I felt in such turmoil and cast into a sea of change and uncertainty. Is it a woman's way to overreact and over analyze, and a man's way to shrug their shoulders and take what comes? It hard to believe that one chromosome can make so much difference sometimes.