Community Brew | Marriage

I've discovered so many great new blogs lately, & their link-ups not only help when I'm in a blogging rut, but they're also just really good topics. I love seeing the online community that's created through blogging & social media.

That being said, I'm joining in on Community Brew with Rachel & Madison.

This month's topic is marriage.  One of my favorite topics.

Grayson's dad & stepmom visited with us for a few days last week.  Since we've always lived in a different state, & now on the other side of the country, this is only the second time we've gotten to see them since we got married a little over a year & a half ago, so we ended up talking several times about our marriage, & how that first year & a half has been.

[Side note: Grayson looks a lot like his dad anyway, but this picture...just alike.]

So we were talking at dinner one night about what had been the hardest/easiest things about being married.  I've said before, marriage has been a lot easier than I expected.  And it always scares me a little to even utter those words.  There are definitely hard days, & bad days, & fights, & arguments over nothing...but those are pretty rare.  For the most part, we just have fun together.

Looking back, I think one of the main things that has helped us grow as husband & wife is learning how to show a mutual respect for one another.  I don't quite know how this started, but every.single.night, Grayson tells me thank you for making dinner.  Honestly, I think he started that & I liked that he recognized something that I did, so I tried to do the same!

I try to always tell him thank you when we go out to dinner.  He tells me thank you for doing the laundry, making the bed, cleaning the house, etc.  I tell him thank you when he fixes something I've broken, cleans up the kitchen after dinner, vacuums the house, or brings me coffee.  Sometimes to the point that it seems a little ridiculous.   

But just that simple gesture, that literally takes no effort, can be a game changer.  I could be bitter about any little task, & then he says "thank you for dinner" & I don't even mind anymore.  We should be servants whether it is noticed or not, but it does make it easier when you feel appreciated.

When Grayson thanks me for dinner, it's not just for cooking a meal.  It's for planning a menu that I think he will like, going to the grocery store, making dinner, cleaning up the kitchen after that (though many nights I fall asleep & he does that!).  It's just an attitude of thankfulness that makes so much of a difference.  So I plan to continue to wear out the words "thank you," because I never want him to go a day when he doesn't feel loved, respected, & appreciated.