I am a huge fan of “Sex and the City,” and I’m not ashamed to admit it. I own several seasons of the show on DVD, which I’ve watched so often I can quote them off the top of my head. When the movie version was released in May, I rushed out to see the film the day it was released. And while many critics slammed the movie, I loved it because I could relate to a lot of the issues – in particular, the scenes about the walk-in closet.
In those scenes, Carrie Bradshaw and Mr. Big go apartment hunting, and they find an apartment that’s perfect except for one flaw — its tiny closet is nowhere near big enough to house Carrie’s shoes and clothes. Carrie remarks that a small closet can be a deal-breaker in a relationship. The two later go their separate ways, and then reconcile at the end of the movie, when Mr. Big presents Carrie with a huge, custom-built walk-in closet.
Because my fiancé is an active duty soldier, I felt that I could really relate to the importance of closet space in a relationship. To the uninitiated, that probably seems like an odd statement, but if you’ve ever lived with an active duty service member, you might have a better idea of what I’m talking about.
The Army requires soldiers to maintain an astounding amount of uniforms, gear and equipment. There’s cold weather gear, hot weather gear, rain gear, exercise gear for cold, hot and rainy conditions, dress uniforms for summer and winter and matching socks and T-shirts.
When we began combining two sets of belongings into one apartment, closet space became a bone of contention between us. Why, I argued, should my fiancé’s belongings get to take up twice as much closet space as mine? As the female, shouldn’t I be entitled to a bigger piece of the pie when it comes to clothes?
Out of necessity and lack of space, we came up with some creative places to store my clothes.
Even though space is no longer an issue, I learned an important lesson from our closet adventures. I learned that an Army relationship, like any relationship, requires compromise in order to work. I’ll probably have to rearrange my wardrobe again in the future, but I’m OK with that. Because in a successful relationship, sometimes your shoes have to live in the kitchen for a little while.
Gotler is the fiance of a soldier formerly assigned to Hunter Army Airfield. She and her fiance now reside in the Fort Benning/Columbus area.
In those scenes, Carrie Bradshaw and Mr. Big go apartment hunting, and they find an apartment that’s perfect except for one flaw — its tiny closet is nowhere near big enough to house Carrie’s shoes and clothes. Carrie remarks that a small closet can be a deal-breaker in a relationship. The two later go their separate ways, and then reconcile at the end of the movie, when Mr. Big presents Carrie with a huge, custom-built walk-in closet.
Because my fiancé is an active duty soldier, I felt that I could really relate to the importance of closet space in a relationship. To the uninitiated, that probably seems like an odd statement, but if you’ve ever lived with an active duty service member, you might have a better idea of what I’m talking about.
The Army requires soldiers to maintain an astounding amount of uniforms, gear and equipment. There’s cold weather gear, hot weather gear, rain gear, exercise gear for cold, hot and rainy conditions, dress uniforms for summer and winter and matching socks and T-shirts.
When we began combining two sets of belongings into one apartment, closet space became a bone of contention between us. Why, I argued, should my fiancé’s belongings get to take up twice as much closet space as mine? As the female, shouldn’t I be entitled to a bigger piece of the pie when it comes to clothes?
Out of necessity and lack of space, we came up with some creative places to store my clothes.
Even though space is no longer an issue, I learned an important lesson from our closet adventures. I learned that an Army relationship, like any relationship, requires compromise in order to work. I’ll probably have to rearrange my wardrobe again in the future, but I’m OK with that. Because in a successful relationship, sometimes your shoes have to live in the kitchen for a little while.
Gotler is the fiance of a soldier formerly assigned to Hunter Army Airfield. She and her fiance now reside in the Fort Benning/Columbus area.