We were poor newlywed college students looking for a way to pass the evening when we had the brilliant idea of popping over to the local mall for an ice cream cone from the fancy creamery. Since money was tight, we decided to get one double-scoop cone and share it, each of us picking a topping. It was going to be the best ice cream ever.

We each selected the thing we were most craving and we peered through the glass as the attendant folded our independent choices into a single pile of ice cream on the cold marble slab: fresh cherries and Oreo cookies.

It was indeed one epic ice cream cone. Hands down the worst we’ve ever had. It was so bad, in fact, that that double-scoop cone has become an inside joke, a symbol of how bad things can be when we both insist on having our own way.

When it comes to desserts, we learned our lesson that night. We have very different tastes: he likes cheesecake, I like triple chocolate; he likes cherry cobbler, I prefer peach (which, according to hubs, should never be cobbled). We can’t both have our own way. (Well, now we actually can, but just because you can afford to pay for two desserts doesn’t mean you should.)

Marriage is a give-and-take, but I guarantee you that either one of us would rather be the one to give than to have to suffer through another cherry Oreo cone.

So now we both get to enjoy the things we love, at least some of the time. And that just makes life sweeter. 😉