Mismatch or Match Made in Heaven?

On paper, my husband and I could not be more of a mismatch, truly. Rebel, badass, adrenaline junkie meets the sophisticated, well traveled good girl. Our backgrounds could not be more different - yet we are both very independent, but our independence came in very different ways and at different costs.

His was born from necessity - young mother all of 16 when she had him and then she went on to marry seven additional times, taking him along on a journey of experiences many might not recover from. He was left to fend for himself and his little sister oftentimes, and he did what he had to do. Eventually he rebelled, landed himself in some trouble, and then some more trouble and then finally decided that he was going to make something of himself.

My independence was born from circumstance, being born into a military family. I had to become a chameleon, adapting to new surroundings, new faces, new places, languages, you name it. If you weren't independent and outgoing, you would wind up a loner. You end up being a bit of a loner anyway, because you really have learned not to get too close to people because you know you will be saying goodbye almost as soon as you said hello, once your father gets reassigned. Each time you left one place, you were just getting to know who you were, felt like you finally fit in and then have to start all over.

I have been to and lived in many countries outside of the US. My husband has never been outside of the US but has traveled and seen quite a bit of this great land of ours. He has never had a passport, yet I have one filled with interesting stamps and markings. I spent the first part of my career in the corporate sector with the suits, big deals, negotiations and big paydays. He has worked with his hands, as a carpenter, framer, landscaper since he began working. He has never owned a suit and has never wanted to.

So ... good girl gets transplanted to the great Pacific Northwest. She found herself at the County Fair, watching her husband compete in a tractor pull and then at "Bogs for Dogs" where he competed in mud bog races in a Chevy 4x4 that he built himself, from the ground up, all from parts he picked up at the junk yard. She camps in a tent, by a campfire and while she was always adventurous in life, she is experiencing a whole new set of adventures by his side.

I never grew up to believe that I had led a sheltered life and might even, at one point in my life, turned my nose up at mud bogs and tractor pulls. I would like to think that I wouldn't have, but I might have had some snooty years that I have chosen to conveniently forget.

What I do know is that I came into this marriage, knowing we were different, knowing we could star on the modern day version of Green Acres and knowing that I didn't care. I was excited to open my eyes and mind and launch into a life of new experiences. An open mind truly is a gift beyond measure.