We've Picked Sides

Mike and I grew up playing sports. In sports you have teams....and therefore sides. This may be sides of a court, sides of the bench, even sides to an issue. Whatever it is, you are defined. Whether it be by the color of your jersey, the school you go to, the uniform you wear, or the name of your team. You are a part of something and you work together as a team to get there.

Whether we have realized this or not it has been a consistent part of our relationship from the beginning. I am from Texas. Mike is from Colorado. I remember a caps game that defined which side was better ("Texas gals vs. Colorado girls"). The Texas gals won but that's beside the point. Even my earliest memories of Mike and myself are mostly of us playing team sports together. And in the off chance UCLA was playing A&M in a sporting event...watch out!

When Mike and I got engaged our entire world was focused on wedding planning. I wasn't ready to give up my maiden name yet (again, that's what defined me for 30 years) so we became Team Spartin (Martin + Spruiell = Spartin). That's right. We had a team name that defined us as an engaged couple....our mission: to plan the best wedding we could.

By marrying Mike, I found myself a part of a new group...the Spruiells...and that was equally exciting! I've never had 4 siblings before and here I was drinking shots and chanting "Cool Spruiells!! Cool Spruiells!!!!!" at my rehearsal dinner with Mike's two sisters, brother, and brother-in-law, mom, and dad. Even my own sister and brother-in-law were taking part. It was an exciting time b/c all of a sudden I was a "Cool Spruiell"!

Fast forward to the present. As many of you know, we live on Animal Planet: Population 5....just enough to warrant two teams. Parents always tell you growing up that you love your kids equally and there is no such thing as favoritism. Well, I am here to tell you that is not entirely the case. We have our favorites. Mine is Sandy and Mike's is Jerry..and therefore our teams: the males vs. the females...with Toby somewhere in between. Actually, I think Toby is his own team. Who am I kidding, we all answer to him anyways. We'll call him the referee.

Mike and Jerry CLEARLY have similarities. They LOVE to cuddle and talk about their feelings. They choose to sit and stare at you until you give them attention...sometimes going so far as poking you (or in Jerry's case making obscure noises and nudging your hand with his nose). They are both very smart: I just learned recently that Mike graduated at the top of his high school class and well Jerry...Jerry graduated as the valedictorian of his training class at Petsmart. And they are both pretty laid back guys.

Then there's Sandy and myself. Other than the fact that we sorta look alike (as one of my best friends, Karen, puts it "you are both tall, blond, and like to shake your tail"), we do not really like to cuddle and we certainly do not like a lot of attention. However, we are really good listeners. Sandy listens to me whine all the time! We are both pretty independent and need time away from the hustle and bustle of Animal Planet in order to rejuvenate. We are both anxious and stressed out beings. I like to say we are "just very Type A" but others would call us mental. Oh and we LOVE treats!

So therein lies our sides.

We try to be equal parents but sometimes it just doesn't happen. I have been known to give Sandy the bigger treat under the excuse that she is a bigger dog. Confession: I think she deserves the bigger treat. And even though we have a strict 'no dogs on the couch' rule, I sometimes find Jerry lying on Mike's lap with Mike's arms wrapped tightly around Jerry. Mike's reaction to my disapproval: "Jerry's not ON the couch...he's on my lap!" We compare everything when it comes to our dogs: who is prettier, who is smarter, who knows more tricks, or who can spot the cat or racoon outside the fastest. We've even had them race down the street to determine who is the fastest runner! Now that we've picked our sides, I think we need a couple team names! And maybe some matching t-shirts and collars....