30 Day Blogging Challenge Day 11: Your Current Relationship

I get the feeling that this set of blogging questions was written by a young person. There’s sort of a preconceived notion that significant relationships are a busy, revolving door.  But, I guess they do call it a blogging “challenge.”

I’ve already shared much in this 30 day challenge about my wife, and so with today’s question I’m focused more on our relationship and our marriage. I believe that in many ways we are a lot like every other married couple. Wendy gets cranky with my “dude-ness” as I leave messes behind, leave dishes on the counter, and get myopically focused on what I’m thinking about to the exclusion of anything and anyone else in the room. I am often frustrated with a dizzying plethora of female preferences and expectations regarding every facet of life in the house. Then there’s the personality differences with which every couple must struggle.

Anyone who knows us will testify that Wendy is demonstrative with her emotions. She is never one to avoid a conflict when there’s something irritating her. I, on the other hand, am easy going and never one to jump into conflict when there’s a way I can avoid it to see if it will just go away. You get the picture. And despite the differences in our personalities there is a reciprocal positive effect that we have on one another. Wendy teaches me how to be more honest and forthright with my feelings as I help her understand that the first emotionally explosive reaction to something is not always the most accurate nor helpful to the situation.

Those are the daily realities of living together with our flawed and self-centered humanity. Nevertheless, those irritations pale in comparison to the love we share and the joy of walking the journey together. As I mentioned the other day, we are together all the time. We work together out of our home offices and we enjoy the same activities. We are together more than almost any couple our age that I know, and I can’t imagine living life any other way. It feels strange when I’m away from the home office for a day of client meetings. I can’t imagine of better, more complimentary companion. Theatre, movies, books, art, conversation, music, company, dance, wine, Cubs and Vikings. We share and enjoy so many things in life together.

Blessed.