Episode 6 - Couple’s Therapy/Dating Deiondra
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
I'm sure you all must be wondering after watching the episode, so here's the update:
I’m happy to report that Rock T and Crystal are planning on getting married this August.
They were engaged just before we shot that episode, and now the wedding is just a
few months away. And yes, we’re invited!
Watching Rock T and Crystal get ready for marriage has made me think about how Deion
and I have changed since that time in our lives. In a way, both Deion and I have slowed
down since getting married. In terms of us taking attention off our ourselves and
our personal desires, and in focusing it on the kids, and everything they have to
do. So, I don’t know if I would call it “slowing down” or just “changing focus”. Physically
speaking, Deion rides everywhere, and that scooter goes pretty fast, so I don’t know
if I can call that slowing down, either!
Speaking of the scooter (and I'm sure you've all been wondering), Deion would say
that he rides it around the house because he’s had three toe surgeries. And yes, that’s
true. And yes, the marble floors may not be great for your feet, knees, and back.
That may be so. But everyone else walks around. Honestly though, using the scooter
is a much faster way of getting around the house, and it’s extremely convenient. I
ride it a lot, too, I have to admit. But I try to get in my calorie burning exercises
on days when I can’t make it to the gym, so I’ll opt for walking or running. I’ll
try to race through the house, often with the kids. If I have to go to the back or
to the front, I challenge the kids to a race.
But back to this week's episode. One of the best parts of being married is this: if
you make it through the entirety of your life with the same person, then it would
mean you had a life-long partner: someone who knows all of your buttons, someone who
knows all of your vulnerabilities (which can be a positive and a negative thing).
You know, everybody wants to be Norm from “Cheers”. Where you walk in somewhere and
everyone knows your name. You’re always welcomed. They were always glad to see Norm
at Cheers. You want that feeling in life: that no matter what, someone will always
be glad to see you. Someone’s going to scream your name when you walk in somewhere.
And knowing that someone will always be in your corner, and always have your best
interest at heart, not matter what. No matter if I like you today, and I don’t tomorrow,
I’ll still love you for life. That's what's so great about being married, and that's
what Rock T and Crystal should strive for, and looking forward to.
But the absolute best part of being married is having someone to share the ups and
downs with, of course. Your children growing, people coming into your life, they’re
born, they die, and all the while having someone to go through life with is a real
payoff. Because at the end of it all, you have someone else’s eyes to look into and
you both can say, “man, we did a lot.”
Meanwhile, young romance is happening elsewhere on this episode, too. I am always
involved in Deiondra’s dating, but Deion doesn’t always know that. It’s “girl time,”
“girl talk,” that feeling we share that consists of, “Hey, let me handle this for
you. This is the way you need to approach daddy, and this is what you need to say.”
Deion really likes honesty—anyone does, really—and my advice to Deiondra is always
to not be afraid to talk to him. He’ll appreciate that more. But if he weren’t so
hard, and so quick, and so James Evans (of “Good Times”), his talks with her would
go over even better.
Deion and Deiondra are both very strong personalities, and they’re both going to do
whatever they want to do. So it’s like trying to sand two rocks so that they fit together.
It’s the process of softening those edges to the point where they can come together.
So, I’m in it, but I’m not in it. I’ll throw a little dust in there, and then I’ll
get out. And then you always have to make them think that they came up with the idea.
You know how men are. Men will hit the wall ten times before they’ll listen to you.
They’ll hit a wall and not use the door, but if another man came in and said, “that’s
not a door, that’s a wall,” he’d say, “oh yeah, you’re right!”
