His and mine, just staring at the both of us.
Coupled with the sea of brown boxes, the black garbage bags full of my belongings, made tiny self assured mountains in the living room.
Neither of us could see much of the floor, and at this point, we were oh so blinded by the work ahead of us, organizing it all. It wasn't sudden, but like two feral cats in a prime alley corner, we took our stances. Hands akimbo. My husband defending his space, and I, scratching away at the boundaries to define my own.
Cohabitating.
It’s something many of us learn to do rather early on in our lives. Perhaps having had to share a space with a sibling. Grappling away at a bunk bed or pulling ranks for the better level on a trundle. Better yet, there's the collegiate experience, normally devoid of sibling rivalry yet no less competitively annoying, at the best of times. And in my instance, it was the freshly melded newlywed den.
Cue: The Dream...
Like a flash, every fuzzy, rose tinted movie, and fairy tale story line comes crashing in!
The glossy red and gold Christmas spread we'd share.
The glitzy gloss of a New Year's Eve spent together kissing with the pop and boom of the firework blasts and the bubbly chuckles of all the friends we'd invited over!
Dinner on the table! Every day! At 6 pm...Glade candles glowing over the shiny basted bird! Yup...every dinner is prettier and prettier than the last and best Thanksgiving affair!
I'm even wearing an apron in my fantasy! An apron!
And my husband's face is glowing each day as he bursts through the front door with a, "Honey, I'm Home!" on his lips...and we'd tumble to the floor together, in bliss...and er hem, **cough** you know what...
But it’s so funny how reality can be sooo much sweeter than our corny old saccharin dreams, and the things I have come to love and learn about "Us", are what we all come to realize sooner or later on our journeys through life long partnerships.
It is new still, and I am pretty sure that getting to know another person takes a lifetime, and thus, will always be a new and exhilarating experience, once we commit to doing so.
And we MUST commit to doing so: daily.
Every day we make the choice to say Yes to our partners.
To put another's feelings first when we can.
And when we can't, you say? We push through it, and we hope that we have chosen a partner that understands Grace.
We will be called upon to exercise Grace throughout our lives!
First, as we discover our own strengths and weaknesses. And incrementally, when we must toss a bit to our friends and family! Then when we mesh our lives to a partner. Then when we extend the love that God has blessed us with, to our children. And the web goes on and on...
So forgive yourselves when the rice gets burned (am not saying mine ever does! **wink**). He probably won't have noticed it much anyway, (and the term "smoked" does come in rather handy for such culinary snafus! Be prepared to handle more than your fair share of laughs and joy, because boy do they come! Reach out your thankful heart to God in gratitude and let Him know how happy you are for all you have been given. And if you are ever sad? Reach out to the Lord as well, since what do you know? Jesus wept (KJV John 11:35)...right?
And trust me guys, she DOES come around...you know she does!
Remind yourself daily, of exactly why you chose her! Why you love him! Rejoice in the things you have yet to learn about each other, the things you have come to learn and probably wish you never even knew!
I am embracing it all!
The millions (35 really) of times I have been asked: How IS married life? (Great!)
The thousands (20 or so) of times we've been asked " When are you gonna
have kids? (Soon enough!)
The times when you are asked: So when's baby #2, or baby #3 or baby #4?
Private School or Chartered?
Meat or Vegan...
Spanking or Time outs...
Suburbs or City...
And the list goes on...
We were made for this! Give yourselves a little slack...loosen the reigns and gird your loins all at the same time...
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