The Question

Shortly after I reached office one morning, I messaged my wife asking if she had her breakfast. I wanted to ensure that she does not delay it like she often does. I had to resort to a quick message since I was getting into a meeting which went on for more than an hour. By the time I came out of the meeting and could call her it was almost 11:00 AM. 

 

She picked up the call and knew that I was going to ask the same question that I do every other morning. Even before I could put the question forward she promptly came up with a statement that she fed our little one and was about to have her breakfast. I tried a different strategy today and so instead of asking her to be regular with breakfast and all sorts of advice, I thought about a simile and started off like this…

“Sweetheart, do you remember the road rollers we had back in our home town? Not the recent ones but the really old ones which were quite tall and gigantic in stature.”

“Yes, of course!” she said.

I continued, “These huge machines have wheels made of rock which is used to crush the metal pieces along with asphalt laid on the roads. You may have noticed that these large sized wheels get quite dry after a while. To ensure that the flattening of roads happen in a smooth manner,there will be one person, a man or a woman applying water on these rock wheels from time to time.

They risk getting their hands in between the wheel and its rim but this is critical for the operation. Else this humongous vehicle will come to a halt leaving the work unfinished. You see how important is water for the continuous operation of a road roller? It is absolutely necessary to feed it with water so that it can continue to work in full capacity. I want you to understand that breakfast is one such vital thing and it is very important that you have it on time. Ensure that you feed yourself and not just our little one so that your health does not get affected.”

I could imagine her nodding her head and smiling at the other end of the phone. But after a couple of moments of silence, I was totally speechless when she asked me a question, “So you think I’m like a road roller?!”

Dedicated to all good-hearted husbands! :)