Couple credits happy marriage with doing more than 12K daily crosswords
VANCOUVER, B.C. — Before they started doing crosswords together, Wendelin and Ronald were puzzled by each other, when they first met in grad school.
'Unbeknownst to me, she was watching [me] with one of her friends,' Ronald recalls. 'And they were having a good giggle.'
While Wendelin found the precise way he organized his desk before the start of each class humorous, and Ronald found it peculiar that she would even pay attention, they ended up becoming friends.
'We had similar kinds of study habits and patterns and became part of a study group,' Wendelin says. 'And it continued.'
It continued through their first date having picnic in a park, to their wedding, exchanging vows on New Year's Eve.
'It's important to not just fall in love,' Ronald smiles. 'It's important to like that person.'
While they both like each other a lot, when it comes to doing the crossword, they are not alike.
'He doesn't like that I put down an answer that he thinks is too hasty,' Wendelin smiles.
But like the way you need to consider crosswords clues from different angles, they've learned to appreciate their unique perspectives.
'She brings her life experiences,' Ronald says. 'I bring my own.'
And when they bring their whole family together every Christmas to connect over one big crossword, they follow one rule.
'You never Google the answer,' Wendelin says. 'You have to be able to do it on your own.'
Yet Wendelin and Ronald have been doing crosswords as a team, every morning more than 30 years.
'It's a nice way to spend breakfast,' Ronald smiles.
And after working on more than 12,000 crosswords, you learn that if start your day practising patience and persistence together, you're more likely to end your day feeling connected to each other.
'You realize how to work together to do things,' Wendelin says.
And you realize the secret to having a good marriage is not 'cryptic,' it's a simple three letter word — fun.
'You know, he's the expert at doing the crosswords, but often I will be right!' Wendelin teases and Ronald smiles. 'And thank heavens for White-Out which makes it much easier to do a crossword with a pen.'
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