My To Do List
Homeschool moms.
Neighbors either think we are SuperMoms or SuperCrazy … it really can go either way.
Friends watch us as we plan field trips, plan lessons, plan meals, plan every.waking.moment.of.our.lives.
We are really focused on time, on curriculum, on testing, on results.
So often we compare ourselves to the other homeschool moms, because we just know they are doing a better job than us – so we plan more stuff, try to be more creative, try to add more extra curricular activities because we need to socialize and have the most well-rounded kids ever …
And in all of this madness … let me ask you a question …
What have you done for your marriage lately?
Has your husband even made it onto your to do list?
We could make a thousand lists of what we have done for our families in the last week. Oh yes, we homeschool moms, oh how very much we love our lists. I love lists so much, I will write things down that I have already completed just to have the satisfaction of crossing them off.
Sad, but true.
But what have you done for your marriage lately?
You know how we put all that time into teaching the abc’s … stop for a moment and think about it. Our children’s first lesson in love is taught at home. We tell our kids we love them all of the time, but do they see us love our spouses too? In order to be the very best parent that you can be, you really need to be the very best couple you can be. We are setting the bar for what our children will expect from their own lives. How we behave with our spouses is actually modeling for our kids the kind of partner they may want to spend the rest of their lives with. Yes, strangers joining our families – becoming our family. I know, that I would like to have sons-in-law that I actually want to have at my table for the holidays!
But back to the here and now and making an effort in your marriage … kind of like dating. Back in the 50’s there was a book called The Fascinating Womanhood that advocated surprising your man wrapped in saran wrap and high heels – really! I am leaning more towards a taking a shower, wearing real clothes and probably some lipstick.
Making a favorite meal, setting aside time for a walk, cuddling on the sofa watching the history channel …
Simple acts of love.
Commit to making time for eachother.
Cherish one another. I just love that word – cherish.
The dictionary describes the word ‘cherish’ as to treat something as an object of affection or as valuable. What could be more valuable than your relationship?
You simply cannot put your husband on the backburner, your marriage needs to be in the forefront.
You need to still be connected as a couple down the road, because you need to remember …
God gave us our kids to raise, to ultimately give away.
But He gave us our husbands forever.
Absolutely beautiful and soo very true!!! Thank you for posting this!
You are so very welcome … I know how easy it is to be guilty of this. Especially with a blog … the temptation to just pop online for a minute really sucks one away from your family if you are not careful.
Thanks for the reminder! I have a copy of Fascinating Womanhood and it is awesome even if outdated.
You do, I think there is something to be said for being organised, and dressed and being upbeat when your hub gets in even if it sounds old fashioned!
I remember years ago a friend of my Mom’s actually did the saran wrap from that book and surprised her hub – who happened to bring a business associate home 😉
I would love for you all to come and link your blog to my new linky party. It can be a particular blog post of yours or just a link to your blog. Please come add your blog to the linky party now!! Thanks!
http://graham-and-parker.blogspot.com/2012/02/learn-through-play-monday.html
We have date night every week. 25 years this March so I suppose that’s a good idea.
Also, I make sure he gets to work out which he loves to do.
He is still quite doable too!!
Oh Nicole I love this! In the midst of planning my life away… I have made an effort to schedule hubby-time! It has definitely made an improvement in our relationship. I hadn’t realized all the time we weren’t spending together, all the conversations we weren’t having, all the special moments slipping by…
Fantastic reminder for all of us.
As always, so well stated. We celebrated 12 years together on Friday. We almost didn’t go out but I forced my ever growing pregnant self into something hot, I even wore heels. I’m so glad that I did. One of the things we chatted about over dinner was how we need make more of an effort for us. Too often we are so caught up in daily life we overlook that this family wouldn’t be a family without the two of us. You are so right about setting an example for love and commitment for our children. It’s so essential to their future relationships.
We’ll be married 24 years in May. We’ve always been best friends and love spending time together. We were married 15 years before we had our first son and we were surprised at how easy the transition from sweethearts to a little family actually was. Now with a little sister and homeschool (and life) our time together has gotten more difficult to schedule. But your post is so true . . . Our relationship with our husband is forever and one that deserves our love and attention.