Season 1, Episode 3 (The Sweet Taste of Liberty)

LVL 10 Good Guy Blog (How I Met Your Mother Read Along) Season 1, Episode 3 (The Sweet Taste of Liberty)

The Ring

Marshal tells Lilly to take off her ring so she can enjoy her night. He doesn't appear to be jealous. The episode becomes about her turning to other men to validate her. I think I'm there now. I moved my wife out of the condo this Friday. I helped her find a place. I helped her move. It was nice. We were friends once.

She said I have permission to date. I can't do it. I ache to be touched. To have my back rubbed as I bury my face in the bosom of some faceless woman. But I don't want her to be faceless. I keep thinking that no one else will want me. The support group tells me that this is normal. In my case, it might be true. I'm not bad looking. I'm just short. I was that kid the teachers were told to keep me away from pretty girls in junior high because I had debilitating stomach cramps. It was nice not having to worry about dating for a while. My metaphorical ring has been lifted if not still trapped by the paper filed in some obscure court. This call this freedom.

As for Lilly and Marshal, I think people get too comfortable with each other. That passion has to live. It has to thrive in balance between insanity and reasonable control. I was so afraid that I might get hurt early on that I harden myself against the possibility. The irony is that the woman who I thought was a saint left for another man.

Random Memory: Lilly takes her ring off because she is focused on how attractive she is to the opposite sex. My wife's ring came from a silver shop in Italy. We're not rich. Wait for it. We were school teachers and we took some kids over seas on an educational tour and the trip was an elaborate engagement. All my school kids were in on it. I knew I could never afford to give her something she deserved so I double dipped our trip. Even after I got her a diamond ring, she seemed to cherish the cheap one. Now that we're divorcing I wonder what she'll do with it. It is going to be odd if she goes through relocating to Mexico. Fuck. That stings.

Side note: I've never worn a wedding ring in the five years we've been married. I hate jewelry but maybe it is something more. I never wanted to wear it. I don't know why. It is on my list of things to discuss with a therapist though they'll most likely tell me that I didn't want to be married in the first place. I guess it might have something to do with the namesake of the episode, "The Sweet Taste of Liberty."

In the end, Marshal is jealous. It is really romantic. It gets me. Liberty is a funny thing. Some want it and others can't wait to give it away. To be single or to be with someone you know not of? Ah, that is the question. I'm not so sure it is as sweet as I thought it would be. Hopefully, in a year when I've processed some and I'm ready to date I will have a different view.