Three Things To Remember As Fall Begins
Last week, Tony and I got on an airplane for the first time since the pandemic began. We went to visit Family. On our way home, due to a connecting flight, we sat on a hot tarmac in the middle of North Carolina, waiting to take off for Pennsylvania. And though, it wasn’t one of those awful situations you hear about on the news where people get stuck on a plane for hours, It felt like we were waiting forever. While Tony fell asleep next to me, I read. Then from my seat, I looked around the plane. Finally I [...]
Simon Biles, The Lies We Believe About Rest, & An Announcement
Did you feel it? The Earth shifting under our feet last week as a woman stepped away from what was expected of her—to take care of herself. Through prioritizing her mental health over Olympic glory, Simone Biles modeled what many of us women struggle greatly to do: She chose rest. She chose herself. Instead of trying to meet the expectations of her country, judges, colleagues, friends, coaches, and family, Simone listened to what her mental, emotional, and physical self was telling her. She couldn’t keep going. So she stopped. I am not sure what your journey with rest and self [...]
Creating Routines With Your Spouse Step 5: Repeat
I am a person of habit. I will drink my coffee the same way for months or years on end before changing it. When we go to our favorite sushi place, I always get their Thai rice noodles. When I listen to music, I’ll listen to the same album over and over before moving on to another. For example, this year, I listened to Taylor Swift’s new albums way more than I want you to know. In other words, If I find something I like, I’ll stick with it until it gets old. As much as I love hiking mountains [...]
Creating Routines With Your Spouse Step 4: Keep Talking
Before he ever told me he loved me, Tony showed me. About four months into our relationship, we went to Maine. We traveled with a group of friends to the northern part of the state to hike Mt. Katahdin. It would be the first mountain I had ever climbed, and the morning of the hike, I began to worry I wouldn’t reach the top. Thankfully, there were plenty of other newbie climbers in our group and they assured me, we’d take breaks when we needed them. The weather was perfect and slowly but surely, we made it to the peak. [...]
Three Simple Routines to Grow Your Marriage
In a season in our marriage where life felt like it was closing in, Tony and I decided to take up tennis. He pulled his old racquet out of the closet. We picked up a pink handled one for me at the local sporting goods store. We bought a few canisters of tennis balls, then off we went to the local park. When he sent the ball back my way, I hit it and we both watched as it went flying up into the air, and over the large chainlink fence that surrounded the court. It was either late spring [...]
Creating Routines With Your Spouse Step 3: Start Small
If you’ve never finished a 5K, it’s not a good idea to sign up to run a marathon. If you don’t know how to boil water or roast a chicken, you shouldn’t volunteer to make Thanksgiving dinner. And if you and your spouse have never traveled together, you probably shouldn’t sign up to do the Amazing Race. Only in marriage, we do this type of thing all the time. We buy fixer uppers without knowing the first thing about laying tile or putting up sheetrock. We look at each other on New Year’s and say we’re going to work out [...]
