Living a Charmed Married Life

Have you ever woken up in the morning and turned to your spouse and said, “We live a charmed married life!” They may have a look of confusion and surprise for such a witty comment in the early morning hours. This leads them to think, “What does a charmed married life really look like?” Let me illustrate with a perfect example.

It was a normal day in the life of a busy family. Work, school, therapy appointments and heaping piles of laundry were on the agenda. Sound familiar? With a kiss on my husband’s cheek, off he went to work. I felt confident it was going to be the best day yet. After all, I was living a charmed married life.

As I woke up all the kids for school, my 14 year complained of a stomach ache and decided to stay home. As I left her sleeping away her sickness, I put my 4 year old son in the car and took the other kids to school. After the last drop off was made, my son was BEGGING for me to buy his favorite milk. As quickly as taking a 4 year old to the store can be, we went to pick it up. Trying to avoid the heaping piles of laundry at home, I gave him the option which store he wanted to go to, and thankfully he chose the store furthest from our house. Here I was thinking it was awesome I got to put laundry off for even 30 minutes. Little did I know it would only lead to even more laundry. As I walked through the door, I literally began to understand what it means to be slouching through poop.

I heard my 14 year old frantically screaming, “Mom, the toilet! It’s overflowing. Help me! Help me! I’m so sorry.” It didn’t take long for me to realize that water was seeping through the ceiling in various places. It was the UPSTAIRS toilet. My initial reaction was to scream, “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH,” but I knew that wasn’t going to help the situation so I quickly ran upstairs to turn the connection to the water off. I stood there looking at the mess in disbelief. My initial reaction was to call my husband and beg for him to rescue me from this nightmare. Certainly, this couldn’t be the charmed married life I was dreaming about earlier in the day! Then it hit me, as I was standing there in two inches of toilet water. This is life; my charmed married life.

Now, three weeks later, I can laugh about our experience even if the house is all torn up. On your wedding day, did you think about the difficult experiences that would stretch you beyond your limit? More than likely, you were blissfully happy at the adventures of a new life together. So, when you’re in the midst of nasty water, no matter how deep, remember that the beauty of a charmed married life are the lessons we learn as we grow together as husband and wife. Instead of asking the question, “Why do we have to experience hard things?” Ask yourselves, “What can we learn from our experiences?” Your perspective can help you one day look back and appreciate standing in poopy toilet water.

“There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will capture your heart….Pursue those.”

Ralph J. Flipp

                                 

                          Retreat-at-Home Date Idea: 

In honor of living a charmed married life, grab a medium sized mixing bowl and pour a box of Lucky Charms cereal in to share. Each of you will have your own spoon to eat with. While enjoying your cereal together, look on the internet for a charm bracelet to purchase. Select one that represents the eternal circle of your marriage. As you experience different growth experiences as husband and wife, purchase a charm that represents the lesson learned to place on the bracelet. This can become a symbol of your dedication and commitment to each other. Discuss possible ways to have an attitude of gratitude for each other and commit to make one change for the upcoming week that will help you focus on “living a charmed married life.”