Category Archives: marriage

Respecting Your Spouse

respectR-E-S-P-E-C-T.  Does that word have you singing the old Aretha song?  That one little word has resonated with fans throughout the years in part, I think, because we get it.  We all get it.  Is there anyone who doesn’t desire a healthy dose of respect from others – from our friends, family, and even strangers? When it comes to marriage, it’s the same story:  we deeply desire the respect of our spouse.  And, in the beginning, it seems pretty simple.  It seems easy, even.  Because when you’ve recently fallen in love, there’s no end to the things you admire and respect about your beloved and he admires and respects about you.  Easy as pie.

Flash forward.  Add pets, a house, yard work, and jobs.  Throw in a couple of kids, housework, chores, chores and a few more chores.  Add different interests and new friendships.  Mix in a healthy dose of difficult parenting choices, less and less time together as a couple, and there you have it: A Full-Blown Recipe for Disaster. 

What’s a girl to do?  See my post over at Wedded Bliss today for more.

We’ve Come A Long Way, Baby

I recently perused an old journal from my college days.  There’s absolutely no reason to share much of that drivel here.  I’m trying to decide if it’s even worth keeping.  Do I really want my children and grandchildren to read this stuff one day?

However, I will share this, which fell out of the journal when I opened it:

That’s the boy I fell in love with, all those years ago.
So much has happened in between.  He liked Patty.  I liked Tom.  Formals, Vienna, the Army, Texas, Palm Springs, and Seattle.  I got a job, he got a job, we moved to Green Bay.  We got a dog.  We had a baby.  He became my new job.  New friends, old friends, another baby, another move, still not back east.  New friends, old friends, starting a new company.  Bahamas, St. Thomas, Great Britain, Yellowstone, San Francisco, San Diego, Orcas Island, Italy.  Lots of travel.  Lots of laughs.  A few tears.  More love every year.
Happy 17th Anniversary to us!