A young couple decided to marry. As the big day approached, they grew apprehensive. Each had a problem they had never shared with anyone, not even each other.
The groom-to-be decided to ask his father for advice. “Dad, I am concerned about the success of my marriage.”
His father replied, “Don’t you love her?”
“Oh yes, very much,” he said, “but you see, I have very smelly feet, and I’m afraid that she will be put off by them.”
“No problem,” said Dad. “All you have to do is wash your feet as often as possible, and always wear socks, even to bed.” This seemed a workable solution to him.
The bride-to-be decided to talk with her mother. “Mom,” she said, “when I wake up in the morning my breath is awful.”
“Honey,” her mother consoled, “everyone has bad breath in the morning.”
“No, you don’t understand. Mine is so bad that I’m afraid he will not want to sleep in the same room with me.”
Her mother said, “Try this. Get straight out of bed, head for the kitchen, and make breakfast. While he is eating, move on to the bathroom and brush your teeth. The key is not to say a word until you’ve brushed your teeth.”
“I shouldn’t say ‘good morning’ or anything?” she asked.
“Not a word,” her mother affirmed.
“Well, it’s worth a try,” she said.
The loving couple married. He with his perpetual socks and she with her morning silence, they managed quite well for about six months.
Shortly before dawn one morning, the husband woke to find that one of his socks had come off. Fearful of the consequences, he frantically searched the bed. This woke his bride. Without thinking, she asked, “What on earth are you doing?”
“Oh, no,” he replied, “you’ve swallowed my sock!”
“Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth” Proverbs 5:18
