Agree to Disagree

I have this great friend who is also a co-worker. And the thing about this friend is that if we didn't have work in common, we would have never met, much less became friends. I met her once at a get-together another friend had several years ago, and we both attended. We left that party with no intention of seeing each other, unless our paths just happened to cross.

Now here we are, six years later.

Talk about opposites. Being married to a Baptist minister, she's about as far right as they come. Even if she wasn't married to a Baptist minister, she'd probably still be about as far right as they come. I , on the other hand, am more liberal. I wouldn't say I'm as far left as she's right; I'm more of a moderate, but we have our differences.

Our fall-outs have been over school stuff, and it's been heated. (You know it's bad when the students look worried and have that "deer in the headlights" expression.) We've both acquired the taste for crow; it's not our favorite, but we eat it when we have to.

What we've learned is that it's okay to agree to disagree. We both have strong personalities. I guess that's what has drawn us together.

What I do find interesting is how over the years we have "taken-on" traits that before were the opposites. I'm much more calm than I used to be, while G**, although still the diplomat, is more easily riled. While I'm still tough on the students, she's not so lenient anymore. Just some examples...

But one of the best things about G**, is that when we have Bible discussions, she explains it without being condescending. Sometimes I have to tell her she's sounding a little too righteous, but I always leave with a clearer understanding. Whether I agree or disagree, it's still clearer.

All of us are passionate about a lot of issues, and there are times when we're not going to see eye to eye. Let's agree to disagree and love each other still.