Pea Soup

1:32 PM - Mike here.

Linda and I don't argue much. Perhaps it could be said that we "bicker" a bit -- and that's almost surely my fault. But actual raised-voice, sustained, pointed, head-to-head arguments are very, very rare. I'd say there have been about five of them in our 9 years of marriage, over who-knows-what, and they've always been short-lived.

Today, we argued about pea soup. Her argument was that we agreed to have soup every day, and I have ignored that agreement and found ways to make this molehill of a chore into Mount Everest. I concede that we haven't had soup every day, however in my defense I claim that the soup run was pre-empted both yesterday and today by other events which were not completely in my control. I don't think we've had the agreement for much longer than that.

It is true that, at best, a "soup run" consists of a pleasant 15-minute stroll down what, with a little imagination and a hint of romance, might be called a rustic, picturesque path, followed by a light 10-minute Russian lesson with a very helpful and forgiving restaurant hostess, completed by a repeat of the stroll in reverse, this time carrying four lovely clay pots of tasty, nourishing soup costing about a dollar.

At worst, the whole thing can be an exhausting 60-minute round trip including wait time, for starters. The "picturesque path" might, on some days, turn into an obstacle course of alternating dust-exhaust clouds and mud puddles in 90-degree heat, the air filled with a whiteout of poplar fluff and various species of pollen which seem specifically engineered to attack Western sinuses. Obtaining the goods might include a harrowing, confusing conversation with several people while feeling uncomfortably conspicuous and dodging the regular goings-on of men dressed in camouflage uniforms and hurried women carrying all the stuff you'd like to order but they can't slow down so you can point at it. They might not even have the soup you want; partly because they don't make it every day, and partly because when they do make it, they make it different every day. Oh, it's always good, but a bit of a grab-bag.

On some days, the family is happy with my hard-won bounty, and on some days it is met with a wall of "ni-godoos". Linda, at least, is always happy, bless her heart.

So, you see, I have to admit to being less than enthusiastic about the idea of a daily soup run, though I still maintain my innocence in the face of the accusation that I've been avoiding it.

On the other hand, it just occurred to me that a call to Sveta and an extra 200 Tenge will have it all delivered and possibly improve our marriage.

Tonight, dinner with friends. Tomorrow, I dial.