Ann Cannon: Speaking in Cliffs Notes, 33 years later

Here's the deal about long-term marriages.

SoMetiMes you speak to each other in Cliffs

Notes. For example! The other day when my husband and I were getting

ready to take a little road trip, we had the following Cliffs Notes

conversation.

Him: Did you pack soMe toothpaste?

Me: Take yours.

How does this qualify as Cliffs Notes

conversation, you ask?

Compare it to the following conversation.

Him: Did you pack soMe toothpaste?

Me: Yes.

Him: What kind?

Me: Does it

matter?

Him: Yes.

Me: Are you

serious?

Him: I prefer Crest, just like 3 out of 4 dentists, OK? I

have always preferred Crest. Ever since I was a kid. The others leave a

funny aftertaste in my mouth.Me: Well, aren't YOU just the Princess

and the Pea.

Him:

The who?

Me:

Dude! The Princess and the Pea! Don't tell Me you never read the fairy

tale about the princess with such sensitive skin that she can feel a pea

beneath a thousand mattresses.

Him:

What does that have to do with Crest

toothpaste?

Eventually this

conversation would devolve into a testy exchange about our separate