Mirrored Emotions

We tend to emotionally mirror each other. When Ben’s happy, I’m happy. When I’m stressed, he’s stressed. But, for some reason, when either of us gets angry or frustrated, the other person calms down to enjoy the free entertainment.

A month ago, I nearly busted an artery when I opened the cabinet door and a Tupperware avalanche almost decapitated me. In anger, I yanked down the George Foreman grill, dropped it in the sink, and chipped a corner. Ben moseyed over, observant to the scene, and sweetly asked if I needed help. Uh, yeah, like five minutes ago. At that point, what I really wanted was help knocking the syrupy pseudo-concern out of his voice. My state clearly entertained him, which only infuriated me more. I bit my tongue knowing his time would come.

The sound on our DVD player goes in and out. I don’t mind. In fact, I say, forgo the movie for a rerun on TV. Not Ben, whose threshold is low for defunct electronics. Last night, I prepared to stifle a laugh when no sound accompanied our movie. He shot off the couch, ripped the DVD player off the stand, wrenched out the cords, and shook it as hard as possible… because that usually works. The angrier he got, the more amused I became. Of course, I masked my entertainment with a stanch, concerned face.

Revenge can be so sweet.