The Power of Indecision

What should we eat?
Where should we go?
What should we watch?

Simple questions. Yet. We approach them as if considering the next brilliant chess move. Our family does anyway.

Let me begin with some history, so you get some sense of our household dynamics.

I learned early on that flexibility would be a non-negotiable on the farm. (It should've have occurred to me when the first call for a date didn't come for three weeks after meeting Doug. The story is he had some beans to plant...) As our relationship became more serious, I noticed activities took a backseat to harvest, planting, spraying, etc. I discovered that planning any particular activity was often a lesson in futility. Doug's trademark response, "We'll have to see once" was a euphemism for "don't plan anything."

And it's fine–especially for a reader! But the easiest activities to plan at the last minute are eating and watching movies. Those habits tend to define our family.

Anyway, back to how we make come to any decision. "Compromise"probably doesn't quite cover it. I have realized Doug's "indecisiveness" tends to work for him quite brilliantly. Doug will tell you he never makes the call when it comes to choosing a place to eat or when it comes to choosing a movie to watch. That's because our conversations go something like this:

Me    What should we watch tonight?
He     I don't care. What do you want to watch?
Me    Really? You really want me to choose?

A pause.

He    Sure. Just choose something good.
Me    Midnight in Paris.
He    I said something good.
Me    So what do you want to watch?
He    I don't care.
Me   You do care! How about The Secret Life of Walter Mitty? You've Got Mail?

A pause.

Me    Or Trouble with Curve?
He    Ok. We can watch Trouble with the Curve.

Baseball movies are never rejected.

So the next movie night comes around. Doug will comment how it's his turn to choose since I selected Trouble with the Curve.  (Ha!) Someone like Jason Bourne will adorn the screen.

As for the next movie night? See the conversation above, slightly different movie options. I bought Slumdog Millionaire a few years ago, but haven't seen it yet because my husband pinches his face every time I suggest it. He mentions I can watch it during planting or harvest. But I'm in the camp of "movies are no fun to watch by yourself!" Maybe I'll attempt Doug's "indecisive" strategy on him. Somehow I think it'll fail miserably.

Certainly, there are always those nights when there is absolutely no agreeing on a DVD. That's when we turn to the worst place in the universe for the indecisive: Netflix. Why, you ask, would we do that to ourselves? Flick through the abyss of movie and TV show options?

Two reasons. There's always that glimmer of hope we'll find something to agree upon. And, of course,  Quentin Tarantino. There's always Quentin Tarantino.