In honor of our annual Fabulous Husbands feature, I want to tell this story:

This door represents Lee and my complete inability to communicate. Also, it represents our deep faith and trust in one another. And that is why it stands as is in my kitchen. I feel sure that interior designers looking at this right now are hyperventilating…I know, but stay with me.

During our construction (we’re not finished), we had our main living area and kitchen walls finally painted: robin’s egg blue. In a previous phase, I’d painted Lee’s office that peacock-teal color. Last November, we decided it was time for me to paint the door between the two rooms. Lee set up the saw horses in the garage, loaded the door onto them, and handed me the paint and brush.

In my mind, I was painting the door to be the same color of the walls, so when it was shut the visual was fluid.

But it is painted that color on the other side.

In his mind, because the door is almost always open, the part that opens into his office should be the dark color because his office is teal.

You could have knocked me over with a feather when he hung the door on its hinges that morning. I blurted, “What did you think it was going to look like with the door shut?” He said, “The door’s never shut unless I’m on a call, and then I’m on the other side of it.” I burst out laughing, and he asked, “Should I take it back down?” I said, “Nope, we’re gonna leave it.”

When I’d started painting, I didn’t check where the door knob hole was located. Lee had set everything up, and each of us thought we were on the same side (pun intended). After I started, he asked a quick, “You want the other color on the other side, don’t you?” I was so pleased that 1. He knew me; and 2. He apparently agreed.

For now, yes, I’m the only one that really sees this vivid display—because indeed the door is only shut when he’s on a conference call in that room. Eventually, I will probably fix it. But maybe not. Though shocking, when I see it like this, it makes me smile … in a weird way. While it obviously shows we need to communicate aloud about important things, it also shows that we understand one another’s gifts—and quirks—and we even like them. And when you’ve been married for 18 years, sometimes you need that reminder.

What unique reminders do you have of the fabulous people in your life?