I hardly ever flat-out recommend books. There are many reasons for this. One is that I don’t like to share things that are close to my heart, because if you don’t like them, it’s like you don’t like me. Another is that I’m more than a little afraid of being Book Ass-Person (please see Adam’s [...]
I’ve been reading a book called Why I’m Still Married, which is full of essays women have written about marriage. In almost every one, I can find something that I relate to, something that echoes my own relationship. It reminds me of how universal our struggles are, that people have been there before, and their [...]
I hadn’t gotten a compliment on my diamond ring in a while. Maybe I don’t clean it enough, or maybe I don’t walk in that, “My left elbow is constantly bent so you’ll notice my ring,” position that the newly engaged often sport. Maybe it’s because I’m much less conscious of it than I used [...]
Categories: Marriage
I was tapped by Alisa. Seven Things to Do Before I Die (Lord willing): 1. Go back to Prince Edward Island. 2. Attend Mike’s college graduation. Cry a lot. Take lots of pictures. 3. Go to the United Kingdom. 4. Visit the western part of the United States. 5. Read The Brothers Karamazov. 6. Write [...]
But over the years two questions of mine have evolved which make sense to me. I ask the boy or girl how work is going: Are you functioning at a better level than usual? Do you find that you are getting more work done in less time? If you are, then I think that you [...]
Categories: Introspection,Marriage
I don’t normally dissect episodes of Gilmore Girls here, but I’m going to discuss some details from last night’s episode because it’s kind of on my mind today. Don’t read below if you are planning on seeing the episode and don’t want to be spoiled.
Categories: Marriage,Television
Back when I worked at the Christian bookstore, I always had a sense that I didn’t fit in with the customers. No, I hadn’t read the latest Left Behind book, nor was I likely to. Yes, I had read that book that talked about the evil inherent in Harry Potter, but, actually, it made me [...]
Categories: Books,Introspection,Marriage
Years married: 5 Times I have been sad we didn’t have a wedding video: 0 Times we have listened to the CD of our wedding ceremony: I think 2 Times our vacation was almost ruined by forgetting the plane tickets (luckily one of us remembered them on the way to the airport): Just once. Because [...]
Categories: Marriage
A couple of years ago Mike and I were in a situation where young married couples were asked to give one word to describe their relationship. The only thing I could come up with was “fun.” Mike and I do have lots of fun together. We enjoy a lot of the same entertainment like movies [...]
Categories: Marriage
I’m reading Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, and I’m mostly enjoying it, but it’s taking me a while to get through it. I’m not sure why, exactly, but something about it is slow. I’ll read and think, “I just got through a lot!” but I will look at the page numbers and realize I only [...]
Several months ago, Alisa and I reread Mudhouse Sabbath together and talked about it over email. These thoughts were gleaned from that discussion. At the heart of weddings–because also at the heart of marriage–is the balance between privacy and community. Marriage, to be sure, is an intimate matter, the making of a partnership that knits [...]
Categories: Marriage
Not only am I a far cry from Dorothy Day, I am not even very good at luncheon hospitality. I want to be. I try to be. But I am too busy, my kitchen is too small, inviting people over takes too much time, my apartment is always too messy . . . Intentionality, however, [...]
Categories: Introspection,Marriage
This week I was talking with a coworker about hyphenated names. She personally hyphenated her name, and I asked her if it was for the same reason as one of my other friends who kept debating what to do but never could decide and just ended up keeping both names by default. She said that [...]
Categories: Introspection,Marriage
Sometimes I wonder if, when I mention a problem or an issue I am dealing with on here, if it’s blatantly obvious to everyone who knows me exactly what I am talking about. That fear has kept me from publicly processing one of the bigger things I have been dealing with over the past few [...]
Disclaimer: Mike gave me permission to write this. Actually, he said, “Are you going to blog about this?” When I said that I didn’t want to post it because I figured he wouldn’t like it, he said I should. Sure, Mike is making good grades. But have you ever thought about the process by which [...]
Categories: Funny Stuff,General,Marriage
This was drafted earlier this week, if the timeline seems a bit wonky. I seem to be doing a lot of things rather badly lately, so I’m sitting here trying to work it out with words, because that’s something that usually helps, an area where I have hope that I won’t completely foul things up. [...]
Categories: Marriage
When we were planning our honeymoon, it was quite common for guys to ask us why we chose PEI. The girls mostly knew why without any explanations necessary, so they generally responded with squeals of delight and excitement for me, but the boys tended to be pretty clueless. When we explained that PEI was somewhere [...]
Categories: General,Introspection,Marriage,Movies
“So, how was your vacation?” “It was great. Except for Wednesday. Wednesday, right? Wednesday was the bad day?” “Wednesday was indeed the bad day.” “Yeah, it rained and it was really cold, and when it rains, everyone in Naples wants to go to the same places, so we went to the mall and it was [...]
Categories: General,Introspection,Marriage
I am terrible at packing. Terrible. For a weekend, I’m okay, because I can just pack complete outfits, but for something like our trip to Florida, when the weather is unpredictable, we’ll have to dress up to go out to eat a few times, and we’ll be gone a week . . . that’s hard. [...]
On our first Valentine’s Day together, Mike and I bought a bread machine instead of doing anything fancy. We haven’t used it lately, but it was a good purchase. What says love more than warm bread, I ask you? Our second Valentine’s Day was, I believe, when Mike cooked for me at his apartment. Steak [...]
Categories: Marriage