Relationships & My Happy Place

He really doesn't always look at me like this
when I go to kiss him, but relationships ARE
crazy sometimes.

Research has shown that relationships are a critical factor in one's resilience and happiness.  You need not have a huge number of friends, just a few who really care about you.  And you need to spend time with them.

 I didn't finish my longer, planned post because the conversation with my husband was just too good.  "I'd love to sit here visiting with you all night"  he said,"but we have to get some sleep."  It's funny how the exciting, giddy, we-could-talk-all-night-and-still-make-it-to-class-the-next-day days are long over.  There were nights when we were so  achingly tired from nursing sick children, or stressing about work, or arguing about money that we could barely muster 2 words.  We didn't (and still don't) always agree, but we always gutted it out.  Sometimes I would roll my eyes when he wanted to talk, and all I wanted to do was bury my head in the sand.

Last Spring when he announced to the children that they had to hop to bed because Mommy & Daddy had a date for "wine at 9" I thought it seemed contrived.  I really just wanted to read a book.  What a nut!  Those first few nights I could barely sit still while we were supposed to be connecting.  My mind kept drifting to all the things I could be doing.  You know, exciting things like picking up wet towels and wiping off toothpaste splatters.  I am grateful he was persistent,and I was able to apply mindfulness because now we visit every night.  We sit on the front porch like two old people and watch the neighbors walk their dogs, close their blinds and drift off to bed while we visit about our day, our children, our memories and our dreams.  He is my anchor and that makes me deeply, deeply happy.

Relationships are tricky.  They can be messy and tedious.  You might think it's easier to fend for yourself.  You might build walls to keep from being vulnerable, from being hurt again.  You might not think you have the energy or time to invest, but we are social beings.  You need your friends, and they need you.  It makes us happy when we can help and when we can laugh.  Friends give us a soft place to fall.

I'm Holding You In The Light.