Banshees and Lazy Boys

If you've ever heard a hyena being tickled on acid, you know what my ex girlfriend Melinda's laugh sounded like. At our first dinner party I had to try hard not to throw my hand across her mouth and stop her from breathing at the first hint of someone's amusing anecdote or repartee as this would save everyone from instant terror at the sound that can escape her throat when she's entertained. Melinda's chilling screams of hell subside into a long wet lisp as the last of the air escapes from her lungs fleeing from itself - it's just unnatural.

There are aspects of my character I'm sure that are no different to Melinda's baleful wails of laughter and annoy my lovers no end.. My partners must surely struggle with my innate laziness and ridiculous contentment at doing absolutely nothing. Girlfriends of the past would most certainly have had difficulties with me wearing a favorite t-shirt into its fifth day of service without it being laundered. "Whaaat, it doesn't smell." There's no way they could have fully embraced my sleeping all day and being awake all night, forced into seeing each other on the rare occasion we needed to use the toilet at the same time or when we became slaves to our hormones every few days. Yep, I'm sure I have my own hellish scream that makes a relationship with me not entirely perfect.

Thank evolution for aging, though. One of the things I'm most grateful for in life is aging (even though it will surely be the death of me). It makes me a lot more accepting of my and other's quirks and peculiarities. Perhaps with experience I understand in the larger scheme of things what the truly important aspects of someone else is. It's not that she screeches like a banshee or she farts at the most inopportune moments, it's more substantial than that. I think it's really more about the substance of character for me, as apposed to a person's particular character traits, that make the other more or less acceptable. It's those fundamental building blocks that hold people up as individuals that I value so much more - your principles, your values, your ethics and your morals. And, well, if you do have a nice tush...... But even if you don't have a great tush, you screech like a banshee or laugh like a hyena being tickled on acid, this won't drive me away anymore as long as you have substance to your character. And I also hope you don't mind me sleeping all day, wearing the same shirt for a week and just being a simple man of simple means and simple interests. If you can accept that, I may even work on my tush.

Do we find it easier to accept things about others as we age? Are there things that come with age that make relationships easier? Is compromise in partners easier or harder for you with age?