Committophobia

So Shannon and I were driving in the car a while back talking about whether she was going to join a running program or not.  I know it would be good for her physically because, aside from her crazy work, she does absolutely nothing that could be construed as exercise.  Ok, so she does walk up and down the stairs, but that's about it.  So I was trying to talk her into it and she wasn't really having it.  She was also kind of upset with me and I was able to get out of her that she was mad that I hadn't asked her to play volleyball with me.  In the summer I play about twice a week and the rest of the year I play once a week.  I'm not sure why I would have to ask her because she used to go and the invitation is always open for her.  Then as we we continued talking it came out that she doesn't go because she hates having something she "has to do".  (Admittedly I was confused at this point in the conversation because she had just got done telling me she was sad that I don't ever invite her to play and now it comes out that she doesn't play for other reasons, but that is really beside the point) Then it hit me; Shannon is a committophobe.  (That is called a portmanteau by the way.)

I started thinking about it and it makes sense.  She hates making lengthy commitments.  She hated being in volleyball leagues and was always trying to find a way out of playing.  She won't do a poker league.  We did a summer bowling league once but there was no way she would commit to a winter league.  They're like 30 weeks long or something! And now she won't commit to a running program, although admittedly she has ankle issues which could be problematic for her.  And her condition also includes committing to events/gatherings/dinners/etc. on weekends.  If she says she'll be somewhere, she'll be there.  But if she has one thing to do on a weekend, then the weekend is totally booked.  We could be trying to plan something for a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, and she'll say, "We can't this weekend because we're already doing something Friday, and we can't the following week because we have something Sunday.  Then the following week is national zebra week so we can't do anything that week either." (Ok that last part isn't true.  There isn't a national zebra week.) It makes me crazy.

I honestly have no idea how I was able to get her to marry me.  I can barely get her to consent to watching a movie with me.  I guess that says a lot about my charming ways and dashing looks (the wedding part, not the movie part).  But I guess we all have our little quirks and it's up to our friends, family, and significant others to just put up with it.  My friend, Jason, and I were able to talk her into a fantasy football league so maybe she's making baby steps in the right direction.  Time will tell.