About tastes and our differences

Published in El Pais, 10 November 2020.

Some time ago a friend at my work called me to go to his office. Arriving there, he got up from his desk and closed the door with a very mysterious behavior. In a whispering voice, he said he was going to propose to his girlfriend and showed me a box with a ring. I love the institution of marriage and obviously hearing that my friend, finally, after 6 years and two children, decided to formalize their family relationship. But he was not expecting my approval or my congratulations. His question was if she would like the ring. Since she was my friend, he thought I knew her tastes in jewelry, but I hardly knew what she wore in the cafe and didn’t know anything about rings.

For me and for many men, knowing the tastes of our wives is difficult. After many years of training, I more or less know my wife’s clothing preferences. However, the risk of being wrong is still very great, so I never go on a mission to buy clothes without her. So I say that women who find that ability in a man and who also know how to cook delicious, take good care of it! Since it is a limited model. There are many things that men do not understand about women. We will never be able to find something in their purses or understand that ten pairs of shoes is not enough. Just as they will not understand our impulses to disassemble the most sophisticated devices and try to fix them. We are different and that is great as it makes for an interesting and fun relationship.

With my tongue tied, I tried not to express my surprise when I saw the ring that my friend bought, since I thought it was horrible. Words failed me to describe how ugly it was, but I thought congratulating him on that big step was the most appropriate. My friend told me that he had already reserved a table in an exclusive restaurant and arranged the babysitter to take care of his children. And everything went well. Now they have been married for many years. The two are made for each other, and I still have doubts about my taste in jewelry.

We are all different, with different tastes and ways of being. Instead of encountering problems, we should celebrate these differences that add flavor to life and make it fun because they open our eyes to more possibilities.