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I like to think I’m a good influence on my husband. I like to think that I always do the right thing, and that I’m the model wife, who only makes good decisions and exudes positive vibes for my dear, sweet hubby. After all, he married me, right? Well imagine my surprise when we’re making breakfast one morning and he spouts out, “You know, you’re a bad influence on me.” I’m sorry? What?

I was horrified and taken slightly off guard. How could I be a bad influence on him? I mean, let’s think about this for a moment. First of all, he’s a guy, so automatically you can credit him for his less than stellar eating and drinking habits (no offense to the men out there, but you know you’ve had beer for breakfast on occasion), leaving shoes by the door for me to trip over every day, and, of course, the age-old domestic fight over the toilet seat. So to hear him say that I was negatively affecting him in some way, came as a slight shock.

His explanation: “Because. I never used to drink coffee, and now I drink it all the time like you do.” Hold on here. If I’m not mistaken (and I’m not), that would actually classify as a good habit, according to my criteria. It wakes you up in the morning. Check. It tastes like a pocketful of heaven. Check. It’s the nectar of the gods. Check. At one point he even said he can’t believe he got through college without it.

Me? A bad influence? He should actually be thanking me!

When it comes to co-existing with someone, there are certain habits that are inevitably going to have influence on one another. It’s just the way it works. Most of the time, these influences are positive, like how I’ve gotten more into hiking because of him, or how he has more of an appreciation for the arts because of me. Whatever the influence, we know that it’s never exclusively a bad thing. We chose to spend our lives together because we wanted to grow together, which includes taking the good with the bad. So if that means he drinks a little coffee here and there, or I crack a beer before noon on game day, then that’s okay. You will just never hear me refer to Miller Lite as any sort of heavenly beverage.

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