A very long time ago - over 20 years - a very wise woman said to me out of the blue,"If I had a nickel for every time I've thought about leaving my husband, I'd be a rich woman by now".
This wasn't some flippity, restless young mom either. She was in her late 60's - maybe 70's, and had a relationship that I admired. They had raised 7 children together, moved around quite a bit, and traveled later in life. Her simple confession to me gave me comfort and changed the way I viewed my marriage.
I thought about her this morning, when I saw the whiskers.
But, thank goodness I do think of her.
Because if it weren't for her unguarded remark to me years ago, I'd have come unglued about myriads of things over the years. (OK, I do sometimes still freak out over small stuff, but it's better than it could have been.)
I remember after my Dad died at the young age of 57. A few months went by, and one day my mom made the comment, "I'd give anything to be cleaning up after him again".
Wow! Talk about putting the small, silly stuff into perspective!
So, even though I felt a bit annoyed at having to clean up his whiskers, it passed quickly when I remembered both mentors. Even though I've complained about whiskers, toothpaste stuck to the sink, candy wrappers or cereal bowls left in the car, and tons of other "small stuff", I'm glad to have him around. Love looks over the unimportant things that can drag us down.
You see, it's not so much about having the perfect marriage, or always getting along, or having all the bells and whistles, that make a relationship work.
It's about being committed to 'being committed'. (I'm not talking about insane asylum stuff either!) Commitment doesn't mean that you're going to stick with something just when it's smooth sailing. Commitment means weathering the storms and rough seas also.
It means putting up with whiskers in the sink!
And we won't even BEGIN to go into all the things
that HE puts up with in me!!
This wasn't some flippity, restless young mom either. She was in her late 60's - maybe 70's, and had a relationship that I admired. They had raised 7 children together, moved around quite a bit, and traveled later in life. Her simple confession to me gave me comfort and changed the way I viewed my marriage.
I thought about her this morning, when I saw the whiskers.
But, thank goodness I do think of her.
Because if it weren't for her unguarded remark to me years ago, I'd have come unglued about myriads of things over the years. (OK, I do sometimes still freak out over small stuff, but it's better than it could have been.)
I remember after my Dad died at the young age of 57. A few months went by, and one day my mom made the comment, "I'd give anything to be cleaning up after him again".Wow! Talk about putting the small, silly stuff into perspective!
So, even though I felt a bit annoyed at having to clean up his whiskers, it passed quickly when I remembered both mentors. Even though I've complained about whiskers, toothpaste stuck to the sink, candy wrappers or cereal bowls left in the car, and tons of other "small stuff", I'm glad to have him around. Love looks over the unimportant things that can drag us down.
You see, it's not so much about having the perfect marriage, or always getting along, or having all the bells and whistles, that make a relationship work.It's about being committed to 'being committed'. (I'm not talking about insane asylum stuff either!) Commitment doesn't mean that you're going to stick with something just when it's smooth sailing. Commitment means weathering the storms and rough seas also.
It means putting up with whiskers in the sink!
And we won't even BEGIN to go into all the thingsthat HE puts up with in me!!
2 comments:
Ah, that's cute :)
so now that I am bawling my eyes out and thinking of how much I love Jared, THANK YOU for posting such an inspirational post!
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