A Law of Physics

Two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time.  Mr. Bennett, our high school physics teacher, taught us this absolute law of science.  All my life I have found it to be true.

On a normal weekday, my husband and I—both retirees—go our separate ways during the day.  He plays golf on MWF, and I play golf on TTH.  That’s the way we keep a happy home. 

You would think that living in a 2000+ square foot house we would not be constantly bumping into each other.  But this morning, we were both at home, and I waited for twenty minutes while Neil used our cozy, one-sink bathroom.  I occupied myself by folding clean laundry, but when I went to put it away, Neil was standing in front of the dresser.  So I set the laundry aside and went to pick out my clothes from the small walk-in closet.  In came Neil; out I went.

When I got out of the shower, there was a knock on the bathroom door.  Neil wanted to get the wastebasket.  Hey! It’s my time in here.  Then while I was getting dressed, the door opened again by Neil with the empty wastebasket.  “Leave it outside!” I ordered, guarding my private space.

Neil likes to work on his computer before breakfast, so I went downstairs and started emptying the dishwasher.   Along came Neil looking for some coffee--you guessed it—on the counter above the dishwasher.  Same 2 square feet again—definitely not big enough for the both of us.

The territory between the refrigerator and the island is a confining 4x4 space.  After an awkward do-si-do with my husband while trying to get breakfast, I gave up.  Walk away from the refrigerator, I thought.  I might as well wait my turn.

“What are you doing today?” Neil asked me as we sat together at one end of the kitchen table.

“Taking a walk, voting in the primary, and leaving for golf at 11:00am,” I answered.  “Do you want to take a walk?”

“Sure."

So we went for a walk together, drove to the polling place together, and we voted in side-by-side booths.  When we returned home, I did chores inside the house while Neil worked in the yard.  We were probably both thinking the same thing:  I NEED SOME SPACE!

As the law of physics states:  two objects simply CANNOT occupy the same space at the same time.