“P”arsley

Last night while we were making dinner, this happened:

Yup, that's parsley...all over the floor...

I didn’t drop it, I swear.

I did put it on the top shelf of the cabinet and then shut the door.

I really did.

Or at least, I almost shut the door.

Too bad the cabinet’s too full and I knocked over some other spices, sending them spinning and tumbling of the shelf…and sending the glass parsley jar to the floor.

Where the lid popped off and allowed parsley to go pretty much every-which-way all over the floor.

But we didn’t yell, or curse, or cry.

(You knew Hubs didn’t cry, I’m sure, but I wanted to make sure you knew I wasn’t crying either…)

I did stand there silently for a bit just looking at it.

I stood there so long, in fact, that Hubs had to say, “Well, pick it up.”

So I did.

And I kept cooking while Hubs got out the sweeper and cleaned it up.

I was bummed, sure, but proud of us for avoiding an argument. Or in my case, a meltdown.

We know not to cry over spilled…parsley.

Your turn! What’s the most recent thing in your marriage that could have been an opportunity to produce anger or frustration? How did you respond?

“N”ine o’clock bedtime…

Last night I was tired.

So, so tired.

I was tired because I’ve been a little sick.

I was tired because I ran a half marathon on Saturday.

I was tired because my body hurt… all over.

So I went to bed at 9:00.

Hubs and his brother stayed up to watch some show on the history channel. I didn’t care at all.

I went to bed.

I think it was the first night since we’ve been married, that we were staying in the same place, that we went to bed separate from each other.

I’ve been dreading that.

And I don’t really know why.

I know it isn’t a big deal if one of us is more tired than the other one. I just don’t want it to become a habit because I want us to learn how to adapt to each other’s sleep schedules and various needs.

But one night apart didn’t seem to hurt.

And you know what?

I’m probably going to go to bed early tonight, too.

I think Hubs is going to come with me tonight, though.

What about you? What makes you head to bed before dark? How tired do you have to be before you suck it up and admit to needing more sleep? Any secrets for feeling less sleepy during the day? What are your thoughts about separate bedtimes? 

“M”LS…and running

This morning I ran the half marathon I’ve been training for.

I was worried about rain but the weather was great!

A little humid in miles 1-3 but I settled in and we had a great day.

I have been sick all week so I was worried about how I would hold up but it was actually a great run!

sure, I’m sore now, but I also feel proud and strong and happy.

Plus, I got to spend time with my friend jill, who came up from springfield to run it, too.

And now we’re tailgating… in the rain… (Well, I’m in the car blogging on my phone while the boys stand out in the rain…) before the sporting kc game.

We sure do love soccer!

I love seeing him so passionate. It’s part of why I fell in love with him. It’s why I’ve liked soccer since I first saw him play…and first saw him run across the field to dive in a giant mud puddle after a rainy soccer game.

I think Hubs likes seeing me passionate, too.

That’s why his face lit up when I surprised him by making it to the finish line this morning about 10 minutes before he expected me to. And why he got so excited when I was smiling and waving at him.

It’s awesome to have someone to be passionate with. To have adventures with.

Well, I’m off to go have fun in the rain. Let’s go SKC!

“I”ntentional

Hubs and I don’t like to fight.

We don’t thrive on the drama.

We don’t enjoy feeling angry or upset.

But that doesn’t mean we’re always intentional like we should be.

Let me put it this way:

just because we aren’t intentional about picking fights with one another doesn’t mean we don’t have to be  intentional about trying to avoid it prevent them.

Here’s an example.

Last night was a grumpy one for me. I’m feeling a little sick and trying to fight it off but I was tired and feeling a little overwhelmed by some big decisions in our life right now.

So I reacted poorly when Hubs sat on the couch playing on his computer while I put away three loads worth of laundry.

I didn’t mean to get angry…but that felt justified so I didn’t stop it. Then I said something negative, got huffy, and went to bed.

He reacted negatively to this, defending his actions by citing times he feels I ignore him when I’m on my computer.

And then we were fighting…right before bed…which is the worst time to fight.

If we had been more intentional about the incident, the fight could have been avoided.

I could have asked for help with the laundry instead of silently allowing myself to get more and more upset…when I knew he had no idea I was angry.

He could have called me on my negativity when I snapped at him instead of casually throwing out incidents in our conversion that felt like attacks to me in my already agitated mindset.

We’re still learning, but we’ll try to work on this more.

There are other aspects where being intentional is important too but this is enough for one night.

What about you? What things are you intentional about? What should you be more intentional about?

“c”hips…

Last night Hubs ate the last of a bag of chips as he was making dinner.

That was all fine and good until I decided I wanted chips and a beer as my late-night snack of choice while we watched tv.

So I worked on some things for awhile until it was time to relax for the night. Then I asked him to bring over the chips when he brought over the two beers.

And the chips were gone.

…

I was a little miffed.

Okay, a lot miffed.

Chips are a big deal to me…and a special treat in our house.

There was laughing from both sides… and some real frustration on my part.

But alas, the chips were gone.

I realize now that it wasn’t that he ate the chips, it was that I didn’t know he ate the chips so I was still looking forward to eating them.

It’s all about communication. Which is another good “c” word.

What about you? Any chip disasters in your house? Any communication fails?