My husband and I have been together too long.

We’ll be celebrating our 19th anniversary this February. (Actually, our 4 3/4th anniversary. Work it out ; ) The number of years isn’t the issue. It’s how we rarely have to say a word yet still know what’s going on in each other’s heads. We can sit in a room watching TV, or listening to the kids’ conversations, and some phrase or topic will come up. We just have to look at each other and we’ll both smile knowingly. We can spend hours in a room or in a car together and exchange no more than a dozen words, but not feel awkward or like we need to fill the silence.

But the other day took the proverbial cake.

Hubby was in Anchorage for several days. He had a meeting or two to attend and did some Christmas shopping as well. I’d given him a list of the few items I wanted for the girls and knew he’d add to it as well as pick up stocking stuffers. While he was away, he called to confirm that I hadn’t thought up anything to add. Nope, I’m good, I said. See you in a couple of days.

The day before he came home, I was watching our eldest daughter play World of Warcraft and thought back to my high school and college days as a Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game geek. We’ve told the girls about these old school pencil, paper and dice games, and they were intrigued. In a time when video stimulus is the norm, the actual use of imagination is rare. Both our girls are chock full of imagination, and I thought maybe it would be fun to introduce them to the world of Dungeons and Dragons some day. Something came up, as it usually does, and my mind went on to other things.

Then Hubby returned from the Big City the following day. Guess what he had bought the day before? Yep! A D&D starter set. I was floored. We had not said two words about the game in months and months while in the same room, yet here he was holding up a familiar box and smiling. I sputtered and told him that I had just been thinking about it. He laughed, but I think he was a little freaked out too.

There are great advantages to having a loved one know you so well you don’t have to explain yourself or try to suss out what, exactly they are thinking. On the other hand, I wonder what I think he *doesn’t* know that he really does….