Marriage Advice from Robin Williams

Darby and I watched Good Will Hunting last night. It was the first time I'd seen it, and I highly recommend it. My favorite character was Robin Williams' character, Sean, a counselor whose wife recently passed away from cancer. He's recruited to counsel Will (Matt Damon), a math genius with a troubled past.

One day, Will asks Sean if he ever regrets having married his wife. Sean gets offended, thinking that Will is implying that he regrets marrying her because she died. Will quickly clarifies by asking Sean how he knew his wife was "the one." Sean tells the story of seeing his future wife for the first time in a bar while he was waiting for Game 6 of the World Series to begin. He had a ticket to the game, but he let his friends go without him because he "had to see about a girl." Will cannot believe that Sean would miss the World Series for a girl. Sean's response goes like this:
"No, I'm not kiddin' you, Will. That's why I'm not talkin' right now about some girl I saw at a bar twenty years ago and how I always regretted not going over and talking to her. I don't regret the 18 years I was married to Nancy. I don't regret the six years I had to give up counseling when she got sick. And I don't regret the last years when she got really sick. And I sure as hell don't regret missin' the damn game."

One time, Will tells Sean that he hasn't called a girl he really likes back because he thinks she's perfect now and he doesn't want to ruin it. Sean tells him a story about his wife:
Sean: My wife used to fart when she was nervous. She had all sorts of wonderful little idiosyncrasies. She used to fart in her sleep. I thought I’d share that with you. One night it was so loud it woke the dog up. She woke up and went ‘ah was that you?’ And I didn’t have the heart to tell her. Oh!
Will (laughing): She woke herself up?
Sean (laughing and crying): But Will, she’s been dead for 2 years, and that's the stuff I remember: wonderful stuff you know? Little things like that. Those are the things I miss the most. The little idiosyncrasies that only I know about: that's what made her my wife. Oh she had the goods on me too, she knew all my little peccadilloes. People call these things imperfections, but they're not. Ah, that's the good stuff....You're not perfect, sport, and let me save you the suspense: this girl you've met, she's not perfect either. But the question is whether or not you're perfect for each other.

Wow! It's so refreshing to see a healthy, devoted marriage portrayed in a movie. That's what it's all about: loving each other in good times and bad and appreciating the other person's little quirks. Although I hope that Darby and I don't have to go through something as difficult as Sean and his wife, I know that if we did, he'd stand by me and support me, and wouldn't regret any of it. I'd do the same for him. It's wonderful to know a love like that. And if I ever met an untimely death, I know Darby would enjoy sharing my sleeptalking stories with everyone. :)