Some time ago, my group went out for a team lunch. It was to a restaurant we were not familiar with, so there was quite a bit of time studying the menu. As everybody looked over the menu, discussion naturally turned to “So what are you going to have?”

“I think I’ll have the salmon sandwich.”

One of my colleagues replied, “Oh, rats. I was thinking of having that.”

I remarked, “There’s no law that says two people can’t order the same thing.”

My colleague disagreed.

Not if you ask my wife. Whenever we go out to eat, she’ll ask me what I’m having, and then she’ll say “Oh, rats. I was thinking of having that. Now I’ll have to order something else.”

I’ll say, “You can order it too, that’s okay. Or I’ll change my order, no big deal.”

But she’ll say, “No, that’s okay. I’ll just find something else.”

I’ve tried many times without success to convince her that it’s okay for two people to have the same thing to eat. Now I just accept it.

Update: A few months later, I received an update from my colleague.

The other night, my wife and I went out to dinner, and my wife really wanted the same that I had already said that I was going to order. But instead of switching to something else, she ordered it anyway. I think this is the first time this has ever happened. And you know what? The world did not end.