Training Success

I just received a text message from him telling me he has been thinking about what Xbox games he wants this coming year and then told me which ones he wants to buy and which ones he would like to ask for as Christmas gifts. He then gave me the exact item he would like, and he explained how I could preorder it and that the payment isn’t due until it comes out in November. Although it’s for a Christmas gift I couldn’t help but feel pride in the fact that he was thinking ahead. And just yesterday he was asking me about pensions and RRSPs and how to retire comfortably. He’s looking for his dream job. We discuss wedding plans, and house buying plans. He thinks about our future- and is (usually) fairly comfortable talking about it.

Who says people can’t be trained? Specifically, who says men can’t be trained. OK, wait, I should alter that wording- Brandon won’t like that. Who says men can’t change? B.S. (Before Shannon), Brandon wasn’t a planner. He didn’t plan for a future of any kind, he didn’t save his money, he didn’t think about what he would do next week or next year- he just really didn’t think ahead.

He did whatever he wanted in the moment and dealt with any repercussions- but there were rarely any, because the world doesn't stop when something doesn't go the way you planned...or didn't plan.

Conversely, I have been a meticulous planner all my life. From a very young age I told my mother I wanted to be either a McDonald’s attendant or a doctor… because “they both help people”. You see? I was planning from a young age, my dream career. Granted, things don’t always go as planned (as I have had to learn with great difficulty), so I have become neither a McDonald’s attendant nor a doctor. But I’m not concerned, I can find other ways to help people. I plan my hours, days, weeks and years ahead of time. I like to know exactly what I am doing and when I am going to do it. Brandon has been able to help me let go of that a bit. That’s not to say I am anywhere near “living by the seat of my pants” or “throwing caution to the wind”, because I am not yet comfortable being so…. Care-free.

I feel as though Brandon and I nicely even each other out. We bring together the crazy, over planner who panics when things don’t go “right”, with the fairly laid back, “let whatever happen, happen” individual. We balance each other well by upping the ante or calming the nerves and reassuring everything will be ok. Granted, Brandon seems to be comforting me more than I him in most cases. The 2 years I’ve been with Brandon have given me a chance to relax a bit and realize there’s no huge rush, and no need to panic when things don’t go quite as I had planned for them to.

So, it appears as though people can be trained, myself included. Or at least begin the training process and become better versions of ourselves. Because let's face it: I'm always going to be the tense, high-energy, over planner to some degree and Brandon will always sit back and save planning for another day. It's who we are- and we're pretty awesome!