I had this friend @ a church camp when I was 15 tell me, “Elise, thoughts don’t run circles in your head, they run squares.” Totally true! Ever since then, I’ve used that to explain how my thoughts feel in my head. Almost every day this week, I was thinking about what I would blog, but couldn’t seem to stick to one thing! In my head, thoughts are going one way, then that leads to a tangent thought which bumps & leads to another thought, and then I have a square! Continue reading “thoughts running squares in my head”
loving my weirdo children
I’ve spent most of my life being weird. For a long time, I was frustrated with that fact. I wanted to fit in. It took meeting my husband & having him “love me, just as I am” for me to truly accept myself. Of course, I didn’t like/love/accept myself as I was right away. It took me a bit to get through all of the negativity that I had believed about myself for so long. It took me about 6 years of having thetallone in my life before I had a “breakthrough” to being glad that God made me the way I was. That was quite a few years ago, now, and I never thought that God would decide to gift me with two lovely little girls who are as weird as I am (sometimes more weird than I am!). thetallone, I like to say, passes for normal. When I introduce him to people, he seems normal. That is, until he starts chatting about Star Wars, Star Trek, or any of his other geeky things he loves. I do love that he is actually a geek & I am quite amused that he can pass as normal. Continue reading “loving my weirdo children”
accountability
Being accountable to my husband (and best friend) is difficult sometimes, but I would not change him for the world. I like having someone that can call me on my crap (most times). Sometimes I have a LOT of it! It’s even better when you can call them on their crap as well! I really don’t know what I would do w/out someone that I trust so much. Thetallone and I have been through a lot. Not as much as some, but definitely more than others. He stayed when I was pregnant (especially the first time! I was NOT fun to be around.), he takes care of the girls while I work weekends, etc. But, sometimes, I would just like to get away with something. I would like to hide in my book for a couple of days. Or hide in the computer. To not have someone call me on it, or keep me accountable to the person I want to be. The mom who is here, and present. The wife who remembers to ask her husband how school/work/life is. The good friend who remembers to check in on her “people.” Usually, I get over the feeling of wanting to stay hidden pretty quickly. All it takes is to get myself back from my “hidey hole” then I realize what I’ve been missing! Continue reading “accountability”
my interesting life
I know this lady who tells everyone who complains about not having enough patience “Don’t ask God for more patience. He will give you more opportunities to learn it!” When you ask God for more patience, things get put in your path that try & grow your patience. I met this lady when I was in jr. high, so I have never asked for patience. I have never asked God directly for my life to remain interesting, either, but I have told myself that all I ask for is that my life remains interesting. I have thetallone, and he most certainly keeps my life interesting. He’s a go-go-go type of person and is pretty busy most always. I am more of a homebody & always have been. That is one thing that is a bit different with being a stay @ home mom. After being in the house all day with the 2 kids & dog, I don’t mind going out! (cash on hand can sometimes prevent going out, though!) Family has always kept things interesting in our lives as well. My parents thetallone’s parents, and all 3 of our siblings plus their spouses & children. It’s not even that large of a group of people! Thetallone and I were married for 3 ½ years before theblondeone was born. Her personality is much like mine, with just enough of thetallone’s to keep things interesting. 4 years later theminione came along. The two of them together, definitely keep my life interesting. I am fairly certain that I will never lack for “interesting” in my life, ever again. I figure that’s what I get for thinking “I want my life to always remain interesting” Be careful what you ask for in your life. What you get is not always what you thought you would!
Almost 9 years later…
I like having 8 + years of marriage under my belt. It simplifies things in our family life, sometimes. Thetallone can certainly still surprise me, though, like last week when he brought me home some tulips, for no reason. It was nice. Very nice. Not a usual occurrence for us, either. He knows me & I know him. He has been my best friend for longer than we have been together as a couple. He encourages me with my life, with not being “just” a mom, with everything! I do my best to support him & raise his children in the way that we agree upon. I’m totally lousy with housework, though, but he hasn’t tried to upgrade me yet. I love his sense of humor. Geez. Now this is starting to sound like a love letter! What I really wanted to talk about it how simple it is to get things done in our lives when he & I work as a team. But, I realized that I really don’t tell him how much I appreciate him often enough. That is why this entry started to become a love letter to thetallone. My example of how we get things done is this, I am lousy with housework (as I mentioned. Though, I am trying to improve), and so I so I told the thetallone that he could move the laundry basket near the washer & dryer & that I would take that as a “gentle reminder” to get the things done that he needed me to get done. So, a couple of days ago, thetallone moved the vacuum cleaner into the middle of the living room to remind me that the living room was in some serious need of T.L.C. That kind of reminder is not loud, it’s simple & it works! Took us a few years to figure out a non-nagging way to let each other know what we need. Every year we keep working @ our love, @ our communication, and we become a better working, closer family.