After six weeks of blissful marriage, I find myself wondering how I managed as a bachelor when I wasn’t living with Sidney. Having her by my side when I wake up in the morning and coming home to her each day is an incredible feeling.

When the two of us went through Pre-Cana, we were counseled in the reality that once we started living with each other we would discover differences in how we do things around the house. Our sponsor couple taught us to not let these differences be points of contention but rather opportunities to understand each other better.

Well, Sid and I can vouch for the lesson we learned above on both counts. We do sometimes operate in different ways around the house but they never divide us. In fact, they make us laugh more than anything. And, I must admit, for the most part, her methods are much more superior to mine! So, in an effort to write a lighthearted blog post, I present to you the ten ways in which Sidney and I do things differently around our home.

Her: Separates whites and colors. Does laundry with care.
Him: Throws everything into the washing machine and starts it up.
I never knew what a white shirt actually looked like until Sidney showed me.

Her: Watches reality TV and celebrity gossip.
Him: Watches sports and CNN.
Our TV screen might not be big enough for Kim Kardashian AND Lebron James

Her: Premium toilet paper only.
Him: Buys the cheapest TP he can find.
Sidney has helped me see the light on this one.

Her: Washes all silverware and clothes after use.
Him: If he only used a knife for peanut butter or didn’t sweat in it, it might be re-used.
Just doing my small part to help the environment.

Her: Prefers blinds that block out all light in the bedroom.
Him: Likes to be woken up by natural sunlight in the mornings.
Come on, who doesn’t like being awakened at 6 a.m. on the weekend?

Her: Sleeps with several fluffy pillows
Him: Only uses one standard pillow.
Less is more.

Her: Likes to eat dinner with the TV on.
Him: Prefers to eat with no background noise.
With the TV on, I can’t hear myself chew.

Her: Making the bed in the morning is not mandatory.
Him: Conditioned to make bed the second he gets out of it.
It is my OCD.

Her: Keeps bread in the pantry.
Him: Keeps bread in the refrigerator.
Could be an urban legend but I heard it keeps it fresher longer.

Her: Re-arranges furniture.
Him: If it was up to him, would keep the same arrangement for the rest of the marriage.
If it isn’t broke don’t fix it, right?

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More than anything, these differences are fun to us. They enable us to talk about how we were raised and help us to learn even more about each other. But man, let me tell you, Sidney really was right on paying a little extra for the toilet paper. Don’t Blink.