Mr. G, the Reds and Me: October 2010

Below is the article I submitted to examiner.com It won't be a published article, but I wanted to share with you all a glimpse into my writing world.

xoxo

Marriage isn't a Walk in the Park

Marriage is a lot like a roller coaster. It has moments of anticipation and excitement, which can be compared to sitting at the top of the tracks, just waiting to make that first high speed decent. It can also make you uneasy, which are how many first time riders feel while standing in line. The one thing many don’t realize is that eventually the craziness of the ride stops and when you get off, you recognize that it really wasn’t so bad.
Marriage is hard work and can almost never be compared to a walk in the park. A walk in the park is usually peaceful and mainly on flat land. Sure you get to enjoy it at a calm pace, but after a while the silence can get lonely. The roller coaster on the other hand, now that will give you twists and turns like you never imagined. Marriage has twists, turns, highs and lows. Why wouldn’t it? You have two people who love each other trying to move through this crazy world together. It’s never going to resemble perfect.
A balance between perfect and unhappiness is what couples should strive for. Recognize that each of you have faults and accept the fault rather than try to change the one you love. Love unconditionally and with all your heart 100% of the time. A roller coaster can’t operate effectively on half speed and a marriage won’t survive on part time love. You have a choice to make. Find the harmonious balance and get in line for the ride of your life. You can even take that walk in the park with the one you love.

Has it really been that long since my last blog post?? Wowza! Guess I've been a little busy with life. In all honesty it's the busy life that brought me back to the blogging today.

While driving home from work I was going over this evenings to do list in my head and the entire time I believe Lucas was trying to talk to me about all the books he wanted to order from the Scholastic order form he just got from preschool. In all honesty I have no idea how long he was trying to get my attention, but it was the MAMA yell that finally got my attention. Like most veteran mommies, we learn to tune out the jabber from the backseat and listen for the important things like, mooommmyyy...Lucas put a lego man in his mouth again. Or the ever popular name calling and at this age that mainly consists of you're a poo head with a rebuttal of oh yeah well you're a gayno. Sidebar - ask Lucas what a gayno is because each time I ask, I get a different description.

I then began to think about what my life was like just a short year ago. I was busy, but busy with different things. I had stress, but a different kind of stress. I was newly unemployed and wondering what in the h-e-double hockey sticks was I going to do to help support my family. Oh and what would I do with all my free time (HA...free time). My time quickly filled up with planning parties and holiday gatherings, purging and packing for yet another move, volunteering at Sam's school, entertaining the youngest red during the day and trying to master the skills of a domestic goddess. I enjoyed having all this time to be a mommy and do the things I had always envied other mom's for. In all honesty, I secretly wished that I could hold off on finding a job just a little longer so I could enjoy this moment.

So here we are a year later and I'm 6 1/2 months into a new job that I'm thankful and happy to have. Usually our family is busy during the summer and things settle down a bit before the holiday season starts. That doesn't appear to be the case this year. Both reds are in school so mornings have become even more hectic. Who would of thought making one more lunch would totally throw off your morning schedule...it does!! So now on any given evening we are busy with dinner, baths, homework, feeding the cat and dog (yes I said dog), soccer practice or a game, CCD for the eldest red, work meetings, parent club meetings, FESM meetings and so on and so on. I know, I know, how is my life any more hectic than yours. Well it's probably not, but all this blabbing is getting to my point.

What could be so important that I would tune out my sweet baby boy on our drive home? This time is just ours...Luc and Mommy...Mommy and Luc...you and me...me and you...(it's a little song we made up). In all honesty, nothing is that important. My to do list consisted of stopping at the feed store, grocery store, dinner, homework, sweeping, giving the dog his flea meds, unloading the dishwasher, baths, folding laundry and finding a little down time. In all honesty, most of those things on that list could have waited until tomorrow. I knew what I really needed to do, but I wanted to make sure I REALLY knew what I needed to do. I've taken a detour and put some important things aside because life is hectic. Life will always be hectic so it's time to sit down and re prioritize. 2010 is quickly coming to an end and I can't think of a better time to take on this task.

The next time you put off for tomorrow, what you should of done today, ask yourself...did I really need to sacrifice that time?? In all honesty, probably not.

xoxo