Sometimes love looks like sacrifice…
Like when my husband lets me listen to Celine Dion’s
Christmas album year-round. It’s April, and I’m jammin’ to “Christmas Eve” on a
road trip, and he doesn’t care.
Like when we listen to Celine’s station on Pandora for six
hours while scrubbing the glue from our soon-to-be stained concrete floor in
preparation for our attendance at her concert in Vegas—my thirtieth birthday
present.
It’s healthy for your marriage when you each have different
interests and hobbies—but it’s also good for you to support each other, even
when it’s not “your thing.” That’s love.
If your spouse likes to golf, for example—join him or her on
the range. Even if you don’t play, you can sit and watch or ride in the cart.
If your spouse likes to run 10Ks, but you don’t—show up at a
race with your water and sign and cheer him or her on.
If your spouse likes to shop—it won’t kill you to hold bags
and offer an opinion for a few hours on a Saturday.
Your company is what matters. Too often married couples end
up leading separate lives because they resort to, “Well, that’s her thing” or “That’s his thing.” Why can’t it be our thing—even if one of us is only a
spectator?
Celine has long been iconic in my house. I grew up knowing
all her songs, singing full-fledged living room concerts with my sister and
Tomi. We sang “That’s the Way It Is” or “Because You Loved Me” or “Love Can
Move Mountains” when a member of our family needed cheering up.
Y’all, we had fake microphones and choreographed dance moves
and all. It was a thing.
To see Celine was on my
bucket list—not necessarily Howell’s. But he gave me this present and
thoroughly enjoyed himself the whole time.
In fact, he said, and I quote, “That was better than I expected.”
Ha! :)
Having different interests is perfectly healthy—and time
apart to do your thing is good, too.
But guard your marriage against the separate syndrome!
Show your support when you can—even if it requires
sacrifice. Your spouse will be so grateful!
p.s. Although Vegas is definitely not our kind of place, the Celine Dion concert was everything I hoped for and more! She performed beautifully! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment