Marriage Bloopers. Part 3
This month our marriage team decided we would share some of our “dirty laundry” with you. No, not the laundry you would find in the hamper, but rather those not so shinning moments that happen in all marriages. Over the past two weeks Cindy shared she needed more than laundry soap to deal with her cussing-sailor-self, while Jenni shared about getting all cray-cray with a toaster oven.
So here we are week three and as I sat down to write about my marriage blooper, I assumed it would take me a couple of minutes to remember a good juicy story about how I acted a fool in my marriage. I was certain I would have to go back to at least the late 90’s but no…I only had to go back a measly 24 hours!
It all began with a birthday gift. Our youngest son wanted a basketball goal for his birthday, so on the eve of his birthday my husband and I went and purchased the goal. It came in a large box with directions as thick as the bible, along with more hardware than a basketball goal could ever need.
Being the great husband and wife team that we are, we knew we’d have this bad boy put together in an hour. I’m a rule follower…my husband is not. So following the directions comes naturally to me. My husband, on the other hand, believes if given the chance, he could have written the directions and decides to take matters into is own hands. Four hours later and not even halfway finished, this dynamic duo was about to go all Hunger Games on each other.
What started as quest to do a project together had now turned into both of us getting frustrated with one another. For most of us it’s not the big issues that cause us to treat our husbands like the enemy but rather the little moments (like putting a basketball goal together) that set us on opposite pages. The need to be right often times robs us of the ability to see the situation for what it is and makes the issue bigger than it needs to be.
When our focus becomes about being right over valuing our husband’s heart we will want to cuss like a sailor, smash toaster ovens and yes, even think of using a bow and arrow to take our husband out. 🙂
Instead of fighting to be right, take a time out and remind yourself that your spouse is NOT your enemy.
Choosing to be on the same team will keep the small issues small and allow you to experience a big win in your marriage.
Have you ever worked on a project with your husband that lead to intense “discussions”?
Oh my!!! YES!!! One of our biggest FIGHTS was over burnt quail! I didn’t know how to cook it… I’ve never had it! We thought it would be a fun treat to learn something new… Together… Well… It did NOT cook they way it was supposed to!! It was horrible! We spent a lot of money to treat ourselves…. AND NoW we LAUGH and LAUGH over it!! Praise GOD!! We tried quail again for New Year’s this year… Chuck’s birthday…. And it came out GREAT and we did NOT have an intense “discussion” 🙂 we’ve grown!!
This is great and so true! I wanted to laugh out loud with the reference to Hunger Games. It really does feel like that sometimes when I don’t stop and realize we’re on the same team. It’s always over the dumb stuff, too–like changing up the menu and using the wrong utensils while making dinner (that was driving me nuts last night–so stupid! He was HELPING make dinner–why was I complaining??)!! Thanks for this reminder! 🙂
This was a great read. My hubby and I almost signed divorce papers after trying to assemble our first born’s nursery furniture! He is five now. And for five years we have avoided working together on any project that requires us to assemble anything. We usually just decide who will be the point person on the project and leave each other to it!! It works for us! This is so great.