Beauty and pain play tug of war. Life can be so beautiful and so terrifying at the same time. I’m often amazed at how well we all cope with the ups and downs this world has to offer. Some things seem so trivial compared to the monumental things we deal with. One moment we are…
A few Fridays ago it was creeping up my throat. Sweet, sweet anxiety. It was looking like we’d have to move. I’d grown to love our little condo so much. It’s bright, cheery, and nearly roomy for the two of us. And the owners were probably selling it. I’d have to pack up all our…
If you find yourself stuck in a vicious cycle in your marriage, getting an outside perspective can help. Problems don’t usually arise suddenly. It’s more likely that things have slowly and subtly become bad. We tend to ignore issues until we find ourselves in a miserable situation. Marriage is difficult at times, but brushing things…
Sometimes making people happy is easy. The other night I brought Kyle home a cookie that I grabbed while I was out with a couple friends. He was thrilled. More thrilled than I expected. It was easy. He was happy. But it got me thinking . . . is giving as sweet if it doesn’t…
When we imagine of romance and love, we usually conjure up images of walks along the beach, candle lit dinners, or cuddling by the fireplace. I’ve experienced zero of these scenarios in recent history. We don’t have time for any of that right now. Our lives are more busy than ever, and there is no…
What would it take for you to realize you’re in the middle of another pointless argument? In our five years together so far, Kyle and I have had hundreds (thousands?) of stupid arguments. We’ve argued about everything from why he took the good GameCube controller to why my taste in furniture is so “girly.” When…
I married my best friend. No really, I did. And I hope you did too. But when I think of “best friends,” I picture being in middle school again, and having that best friend that I spent all of my time with. We had inside jokes, we we spend all of our weekends hanging out, and…
“Honey, I have a headache.” The easiest excuse to grab out of the bag, right? But what if you really do have a headache? What if you suffer from chronic migraines? What if all you want to do is lie in a dark room and wait for the pain to go away? For about a…
I recently found a journal entry from my seven-year-old self. It read, “I feel bad for my brother and I’m surprised!” That’s pretty much my personality in a nutshell. I’ve always been, well, empathetically challenged. Even as a wife, it’s something I struggle with. Especially when Kyle’s upset over small(er) things—like researching and picking out…
How can something so wonderful feel so much like an item on a to-do list? The marital sexual relationship is a beautiful part of our lives. It is also one of the most confusing and frustrating aspects as well. It can easily turn into a tug-of-war if you view it as something owed to you—or…