Livin' the Love Boat

A few years ago my husband and I attended a Gary Smalley marriage conference. One of the first things we did at the conference was to take a "personality profile" test. The information we gleaned from this test was nothing short of life changing! I understand my husband and myself in a whole new way!

Gary Smalley compares the four basic personalities to positions on a cruise ship:




The Captain---likes to give orders and expects others to follow, in charge, can be gruff and no-nonsense....





The Social Director---loves to have a good time, all about the party and making things fun for everyone, wants to be the center of attention, can be a bit flaky.......



The Steward---caring, compassionate, doesn't like to call attention to themselves, a peacemaker, is a good listener....
(did anyone else have a major crush on Gopher?)





The Navigator---A bit "anal", likes to have their "ducks in a row", intelligent, a planner.....
(I am quite certain there was no navigator on the Love Boat)....




Of course most people are a "blend" of two or more personalities but usually one is most prominent. Here is what I discovered:

I am a Social Director/Steward married to a Captain/Social Director.

So what exactly does that mean?
--It means that just like the Love Boat we are sailing this sea of life with no Navigator! We tend to concentrate on the voyage not the destination.
--It means we have a great time but have no idea where we are going or how to get there. (This might explain how we ended up with 7 kids!).

Unfortunately things like retirement plans and savings accounts are on the Navigator's map and as far as we know it it has been thrown overboard in a corked bottle. So if you happen to find it washed up on shore somewhere be sure to let me know, I'll be the one handing out party invitations and my husband is the guy handing out orders.............

Anyway, last week my husband "the captain" decided to call a "family meeting". His goal was to get all of the kids (and us) on the same page and discuss our summer vacation plans. He put out orders that the meeting would begin at 6:00pm and that all of the kids should be there. Here is our family meeting in a nutshell:

---Dad made oldest daughter mad and she never showed up.
---College daughter had finals at school and couldn't come home.
---Two youngest daughters made plans to sleepover with friends.
---Quin was in the middle of winning a Star Wars video game and couldn't be bothered.

That left us with the two teenagers!

Note to self: NEVER, EVER attempt a family meeting with teenagers without a navigator's map written agenda. They WILL take over and lead you on so many rabbit trails you come back mentally exhausted!

By the end of the night very few people in our family were speaking to each other and our vacation plans are still "up in the air." Of course it is Tuesday now and all fences have been mended (at least temporarily).

Ahhh, this kind of drama is exactly what kept the Love Boat sailing for over 10 years! I can't wait to see what's on next week's episode.......