V Is for Variety

"Variety is the spice of life." 

We've all heard that overused quote, which is the essence of an actual quote from a poem by William Cowper: 

"Variety's the very spice of life, 

That gives it all its flavor."

My husband and I may differ most when it comes to the need for variety in the food department. Chuck is a creature of habit; he knows what he likes, and does not want much variety when it comes to eating. He eats the same breakfast every day, he has a few favorite recipes we enjoy for dinner, and he likes his Sugar Jumble cookies I make for him. 

Often, I want to go to a restaurant we've never tried, or order a dish I've never eaten. If Chuck takes me to an ice cream shop, I will deliberate for quite some time, usually having to order two scoops because I can't settle on just one flavor. Sometimes the wide selection staggers my mind, and it's hard to choose. I'm like a kid in a candy shop, overwhelmed by having so many choices. I feel like Nick, the young man in the Great Gatsby who said this about variety:

"I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life." 

-F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby)

Dining out is easier for Chuck. If we're going out, he knows his preferences are deep dish sausage pizza from Giordano's, or a chimichanga from his favorite Mexican restaurant. Whenever ice cream is a possibility, there is only flavor for him: mint chocolate chip. There is no perusing menus, or scanning the multitudinous flavors of frozen dairy delights. It's simpler for Chuck.

For me, I have favorites, but I always want to try something new, too. This quote sums it up for me:

"No pleasure endures unseasoned by variety." 

-Publilius Syrus

Ice cream is my biggest weakness, but every once in awhile, I would want to venture out beyond my love of French vanilla swirled with caramel sauce. Add in some nuts, chopped candies, and every once in awhile, a new base flavor. Changing things up keeps me coming back for more. Unfortunately. 

Luckily, Chuck only limits himself with his eating. When it comes to travel, photography, date nights, books, topics of conversation... anything else, really, he has very eclectic tastes. I am so, so lucky. And I know it.

Life will never be boring with this man by my side. He is always willing to go on adventures, and he likes to take me exploring with our cameras. He reads and reads and reads, and because of this, he will never run out of interesting thoughts and topics to discuss. He is spontaneous, and energetic, and thoughtful. Chuck may be selective when it comes to food, but when it comes to life, he is there for the banquet, and wants to sample all of the best that is offered.