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| Walt and Lilly (image credit: [3]) |
The more I learn about Walt and Lillian Disney's marriage, the more I
like it. They met at work, where she was a secretary. Walt would drive
the girls home and drop Lilly off last, even though she lived the
closest. They married in an episcopal church and had two daughters.
During her marriage, Mrs. Disney served as her husband's sounding board and unofficial adviser. By all accounts he would discuss his ideas -- from Snow White to the creation of Disneyland -- with Lilly and sought her approval. On a train ride from New York City to Los Angeles, after a serious business setback, Mr. Disney came up with a new character: Mortimer Mouse. ''Not Mortimer,'' said his wife. ''It's too formal. How about Mickey?" [1]. We know how helpful that discussion was!
During her marriage, Mrs. Disney served as her husband's sounding board and unofficial adviser. By all accounts he would discuss his ideas -- from Snow White to the creation of Disneyland -- with Lilly and sought her approval. On a train ride from New York City to Los Angeles, after a serious business setback, Mr. Disney came up with a new character: Mortimer Mouse. ''Not Mortimer,'' said his wife. ''It's too formal. How about Mickey?" [1]. We know how helpful that discussion was!
In the 1990s Lilly reflected on her 41-year marriage to Walt as she said, "We shared a wonderful, exciting life, and we loved every minute of it. He was a wonderful husband to me, and wonderful and joyful father and grandfather" [2]. Walt had named many of his favorite Disneyland trains after Lilly.
Their cute marriage, in particular the part about being a sounding board got me thinking about how to be a good "soundboard" for my husband, so when he creates "Mortimer" I can help him to see that it can be "Mickey". But, how? My husband has his PhD in computer databases and I've never taken a computer class since my junior high school typing class. So, how do we talk? Well mostly we talk about other things. He has definitely used me as a sounding board many times for his great computer ideas. Sometimes I just think about something else and let him talk- it's really a nice way to fall asleep. :) Other times, I'm a better sounding board and I listen for terms that are familiar to me (I've developed quite a vocabulary of computer terms). Ideally I would be interested when he talks about computers and try to figure out ways to participate and add my "Mickey" advice. It worked for Walt and Lilly, maybe it can work for us too.
Do you have "Mickey" moments in your marriage when you're being a sounding board and you help your spouse create something great? Or do you miss "Mickey" moments when you put on your glazed eye look and start thinking about something else when your spouse talks?
