Married Fun in Montana

I have been married for almost six years now, so it is safe to say I know almost all there is to know about being married. However, in that time, there is one thing I haven’t been able to figure out - how much different my husband’s idea of a good time is than mine.
Fun for my husband is waking up before the crack of dawn just to spend all day traipsing through waist-high snow, not being able to talk to anyone and looking for an animal that can see better, smell better and hear better then he can.  Then when he does find this elusive creature he is supposed to kill it, clean it and then drag it back to his vehicle that is inevitably five miles away, uphill.
Fun for me is shopping.  It doesn’t really matter what for, clothes, shoes, groceries, jewelry, the list goes on.  It is all eye-candy, and if I can get something on sale that is even better.
Relaxing to my husband is to hike into the Bob Marshall Wilderness and stay there for weeks, catching his food, sleeping in a tent, not showering or changing his underwear.  Just knowing there is not another person for miles is heaven to him.
Relaxing to me involves a warm sunny beach, a lounge chair or hammock and bottomless daiquiris.  Granted this vacation too would be quiet and peaceful, but not the type of quiet where you can hear wolves howl from your bed and hope your tent (and you) survive hungry grizzlies.
In my husband’s defense, he was brainwashed at a young age to think these things were “fun” and “relaxing."  I did know this about him before we married, I just didn’t realize how severe his brainwashing was. We have found the key to keeping both of us happy is compromise. A couple times a year he drags me out to look for that elusive creature and I in turn drag him to my favorite stores for an afternoon.

Joy Larson was raised in Montana, is a graduate of the University of Montana, mother of four, animal lover and writer.