The Bishop and the Knight

Almost all the things running through my head relate to a chess game. It doesn't matter if I'm actually playing the game. Trying to buy a washer and dryer for the new house, trying to plan for a rocky financial future, trying to get back into tip-top shape. Everything is a chess game. There are no random moments to anything. There are surprises, certainly, and some of them can change the face of life for the moments they affect, but nothing is ever random. One connection I tend to make often is between my marriage and the bishops and knights of a chess game. For those that don't know, Bishops operate on long diagonals of a single color, Knight's move in an L shape: two squares up, left, down, or right, and then one square to the side. Bishops prefer open positions, things not clogging up it's path to victory, Knight's prefer things a bit more up-close-and-personal, the more closed the position, the stronger the Knight fights. Diametric opposites the two, but together they can wreck hell on an opponent. Okay Nate, what the hell does that have to do with your marriage? My wife and I, as well, are diametric opposites. Together we haven't failed yet.

My wife is a planner. My wife defines the word planner. I pick on her about it all the time, mainly because it gets a rise out of her, but she incessantly plans. Long range, high velocity planning. Shortly after we found out we got pregnant (yup, I said we), she starts planning into what kind of schools our child is going to attend. Our recent PCS move was planned almost down to the minute. As long as the road is clear, my wife's planning is keen and sharp, and incredibly accurate. As long as the road is clear.

I am not a planner. At least not in the long-range sense. I am very goal oriented, but I somewhat enjoy hacking my way through obstacles, finding my way to the goal whenever the hell I get there. Without difficulty, stress, obstacles of some sort, I lose track of what I'm going after, and my strength wanes. Short term issues are my specialty, I'm good on my feet and can handle things on the fly. Once the obstacles are gone, however, I'm left in the open with a long range goal yet to accomplish with nothing short-ranged in my grasp.

The two of us together shouldn't work. My wife rarely understands my short-mindedness. I completely fucking loathe her NEED to plan everything. But we do, almost in the same way a Bishop and a Knight can be very harmonious. Together, there are few situations the two of us can't handle. She makes the plans, and as things get in our way, the short-term prowess that I have kicks in to get us through the obstacles. She keeps us somewhere on the track we want to be, I help to navigate the channels when things aren't quite going the right way. Ultimately, without one the other would struggle horribly, at least for a while, and life would be a hell of a lot more difficult. I'm glad to say that I've found the perfect Bishop for me. Even with her damned planning.