I lost the bet

So, this will be the account of how we stored all those canned goods. First of all, we have a little "Mother-in-Law" apartment off of the side of our garage. It is the room we stayed in while Bobbie Jo was ill, and after until we got the house repaired after the hurricane. There is enough room in there for food storage, however, Martin has wanted, for years, to have a man cave. Poor man, something has always come up to where he has had to sacrifice his space. There are a couple of steel shelves against the wall. Plenty of room for canned goods, but, they were also being used for jelly making supplies and other food storage. As each day went by and we were bringing home hundreds of cans of food, it became apparent that we would have to find something else on which we could store the food. Feeling magnanamous, I suggested that we go to Lowe's and get another shelf. I may have well as suggested that Martin unman himself, as to the reaction he gave. He gave me an incredulous look, eyes popping, veins standing out, hair standing up. "Haven't I given you enough space for your junk! Where am I going to play pool?! How can I watch my tv in here? My sofa is covered with your crap! NO! NO! NO MORE SHELVES!" Well golly, I didn't see that coming. Anyway, my crap? My junk? Am I the only one going to benefit from my carefully planned and executed food storage plan? I could literally feel my hair standing up and my veins begin to swell. Controlling my temper I said, "Precious, what do you plan to do with all this food? It is everywhere, and if you do indeed want to ever play pool again, you better let me find a solution to store it out of your WAY! Now, get in the truck, and let's go to Lowe's and get a shelf! NOW!" Martin said something that I will never forget. He said, "make me". What? What did he say? Make him? I stared at him with total shock. Why, that little #@##**! How dare he speak to me that way! But wait, how was I going to make him do what I wanted? Standing there amonst all the canned goods, I realized that I was way beyond "kissie poo" to sway him. Indeed, his hands were clenched tightly by his side, his face was red, and I could see that he was truly upset about my encroachment on his already limited "man space". It was apparent that he was going to stand his ground, and that was squashing my "food storage high" that I had been on for the past couple of days.
But wait! I am smarter than this. I appealed to his sense of reason. I pointed out that there was no way that anyone could organize all of those cans without another shelf. That was a huge mistake! Through stiff lips he uttered, "I'll do it. Get out". Yeah, okay, he'll do it. Sure he will, this man that cannot match his socks, thinking that if they are not already paired, then they are toys for the dogs. Looking at him, I realized that the straw was going to snap, so I wisely retreated, saying on my way around the chaos and out the door, "Okay, but when you can't find room for everything, we go to Lowes!" I slammed the door for good measure.
I began to clean the kitchen. After that, I dusted the living room, swept the floor, checked on the wash, put the dogs out, (yet again) and cleaned the bathroom. Still nothing from the man cave. I heard a knock on the door and the missionaries were there. I invited them in, put out some cookies and juice and sat down with them in the kitchen. I kept listening for sound of defeat next door. I was distracted, and finally one of the missionaries asked me what was wrong. With a rather heated attitude, I told them what was going on. When I saw the shocked look on thier faces, I realized the story meant little to them, but they were surprised that I could be so angry about it. Then, the ancient wise woman in me came to the fore. I knew what to do. I would win this one. Watch me! I said, "Girls, come next door and watch a real woman work her magic. He will be putty in my hands. Watch and learn for the future." I made a plan to sweetly go next door, sympathetically praise Martin for all his "failed" work, and tell him how proud I was of all his efforts. I would give him a kiss, and offer to help. And then, we would go to Lowe's and get another shelf! Pasting a sugary smile on my face, I walked into the man cave, ready to take control. I would make sure I didn't damage his sensitive ego as I pointed out that I had been right all along, and he, a simple man, could not possibly organize such a project without my experience and wisdom.
I walked into the most unbelievable scene. There before me stood martin with a clip board and a color coded chart, efficiently stacking cans on those two shelves in meticulous order. They were alphabetized, color coded and double stacked. Worst of all, he was almost done! The missionaries looked at me expectantly to see how I was going to "handle him". Time stood still as I took in all that was happening before me. It could go either way. Everything hinged on what I did next. Then, the sweet urging of the spirit whispered, "Thank him". At that moment, all my anger and frustration died away. Standing before me was simply a little boy that wanted so badly to show me that he could "do it". My heart filled with so much love, and a realisation that he was not doing this for superiority, but only to show me that he could take care of me. I stood before the beautifully organized shelves, took his hand and said, "what would I do without you? You always seem to know what is best." He squeezed my hand and with a Martin grin, said" Well I have a couple of cans left over with no place to put them. What do you think?" I wanted to say, "get another shelf!" but I didn't. If I had to carry those few extra cans in my pocket until we used them, I wouldn't have ruined the moment. I said, "I know! Lets just put them in the kitchen and use them first!" And so, the day was saved. Except for the moment when the missionaries asked, "Sister See, how exactly did you handle him? We need to know for the future." I said, "Well Sisters, I didn't handle him, I handled me." That is the secret of being a real woman!"
And so, the life of an Ant goes on . Our food storage is stored, and my marriage is saved. Again, being an Ant is giving me lots of lessons in life, but strangely, not about thriftyness. Love, Nanasee