Two Day Magazine

An exercise in patience...

One of the most interesting aspects of my relationship with my fiancé has been figuring out what to do in our leisure time.  

When we met, we both worked 6 days a week in 10am to 8 pm retail jobs.  He worked in a bicycle shop and I worked in a retail eyewear store.  All we did together was go out to eat.  This went on for about year (see also - Sally gained a lot of weight.)

These days, we both work the more standard 9am to 5pm type jobs with the occasional Saturday.  We find ourselves with more time on our hands than we did in the beginning days of our relationship.

In the beginning, just being around each other was all it took to be entertained.  I can honestly say that just being around Jason is still enough for me most days, but on a Saturday when you have no chores to do and no errands to run, being faced with a long day of just sitting around staring at each other isn't doing to do much to bond you to your significant other.

So, now what?

Enter: Bicycles!

Jason is a life-long, full-on bike enthusiast - roadie riding, mountain biking, urban beer crawl rides, etc.

I, on the other hand, randomly road bikes on vacation or up and down the street in front of my parents' house as an adolescent and nothing more.

Two years ago Jason bought me my first serious bike for Christmas.  It was a gorgeous blue women's specific Trek hybrid.  Her name was Betty Blue and she helped me discover a passion for cycling that I never knew I had.

It didn't hurt that riding her meant I got to spend more time with Jason.  We started riding together and suddenly we found something we loved to do together that didn't involve spending money or eating restaurant food.

I won't say that I'm a natural at riding.  It has been an exercise in patience for Jason to ride with such a newbie.  I will say that I have progressed enough to be able to upgrade from Betty Blue to two better bikes - one for roadie riding (Pinky Lee) and one for mountain biking (Rocky Raccoon.).

Finding another pastime both Jason and I like and can have fun doing together outside of the bedroom is something I feel very fortunate to have found.

I have been criticized by some for jumping on the cycling bandwagon.  Some say I only like it because Jason likes it.  I'll be honest enough with myself to admit that Jason's passion for cycling is what got me interested in it.  An initial interest in something will only get you so far, though.  If I fell off the bike at every turn or was miserable in my padded bike shorts, I wouldn't be able to fake enthusiasm for cycling even though Jason loves it.

If there is any advice I can impart to my readers via this story,  it is this:

Try the things your partner loves to do in his or her spare time, be it biking or volunteering or antiquing.  Whatever.  Even if you end up not liking whatever it is, at least you'll have gotten to see him or her do something they are passionate about and you will have gotten to spend more leisure time with the person you love.

And that's never a bad thing!

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Sally Turkovich would like everyone to know that A Date With Civic Duty: Part Two was just not meant to be.  As it turns out, the judge tells you specifically and emphatically not to talk about, tweet about, blog about or Facebook about any aspect of your jury duty.  Failure to comply can result in being held in contempt of court.  Being the goody two shoes she is, Sally will follow these rules but will be naughty enough to tell you that she'll be back at the day job tomorrow and her name now goes back into the jury pool for another day.  BUT YOU DIDN'T HEAR THAT FROM HER.

Find Sally on Facebook and let her know what you and your lover enjoy doing together (outside of the bedroom!)

And, are you following twoday magazine on Twitter? Tweet @twodaymag your favorite leisure activity with your partner (and feel free to be naughty!)