Religion and Relationships

Today I found a turtle in my yard while pulling up weeds. He was lying on his back and so small, I thought his tummy was some sort of necklace pendant. I picked him up and freaked out with excitement, running into my house and scaring my roommate with my screaming. Then I instantly called my mother and after a talk, we decided that because the turtle was so young (I could tell because of his size, how soft his shell was and google) that I would keep it for a little while until it got bigger and it gets warmer outside. I found a little tank with a light, on sale and got a few more things and named him Indiana Jones the Turtle. Phew, I'm still pretty darn psyched.

Anyway, when I told my boyfriend, his lack of excitement drew into focus our differences for me big time. He would never weed because he's not outdoorsy or handy and has allergies. If he saw a living thing while weeding (which he wouldn't be doing) he would not pick it up to examine it, he would run away and never weed again (not a huge loss for him). If something exciting like finding a turtle while weeding, he would never call his mother as the first person to discuss options with. In fact, his mother may not find out about the exciting thing ever. Also, my boyfriend would probably not make the decision to commit time, energy and money to ensure the turtle's well being.

Finally, he's Christian and I'm Jewish. We will probably get married... how do you deal with so many differences in a long term, committed relationship, big or small?


sigh.