What I’ve Learned About Marriage From Buying a House – Part 2

 

Remember the first time you saw your spouse’s eyes light up? Maybe it was the first time you gave them a special gift or picked them up unexpectedly. Maybe it was when you got engaged or when you saw each other on your wedding day. Maybe it was the first holiday you spent together. Maybe it was when you found out you were having a baby or when you got your first glimpse of that baby.

Now, when’s the last time you saw your spouse’s eye light up? If it’s been a while, maybe you should ask yourself why it’s been that long.

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What I’ve Learned About Marriage From Buying a House – Part 1

My wife and I are in the process of selling our current house and buying a new one. (It’s a big deal to us since it’s probably the last house we’ll own before our kids put us in the nursing home.) It’s a daunting process. Since we’ve been in our current house for twenty years, the process of selling it and buying another feels a little overwhelming.

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Relaxed Time

When you hear the term “relaxed time,” what do you think. Does it sound like a fantasy or an unreachable luxury? Does it sound unrealistic? Does it sound lazy or unnecessary?

Relaxed time is time that’s free from demand or expectation. It’s time when you don’t have to do, fix, or produce something. It’s time you can truly and unhurriedly be present.

I believe we need regular relaxed time and that a lack of relaxed time can contribute to increased stress, missed opportunities, and mounting health issues.

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Life is Full of Turtles

Waiting for the turtleI was on my way to work one morning and there it was. A small box turtle inching it’s way across the road. There wasn’t a good place to pull over or to turn around and I was running a little late for work, so I decided not to stop.  A couple of days later, I went for a walk down that street and I saw it. The turtle had been mercilessly run over.

When I saw it, I couldn’t help but think, “If only I had stopped.” It wouldn’t have taken much. It wouldn’t have taken long. It would’t have cost me much. But it would have meant everything to the turtle.

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Counting Pennies

stack of penniesIn some marriages, “counting pennies” means being very frugal and saving every penny you get. But in other marriages, “counting pennies” means turning over sofa cushions to find enough change to get the bills paid.

I looked back over the last year of blog posts and realized I have not written any posts on marriage and money management. Maybe that’s because, unlike other areas of marriage that come fairly easy, money management is an area of marriage that’s never really come natural to me. (My wife is the financial strength in our marriage.)

Don’t get me wrong, we’ve always been able to pay our bills, meet our obligations, and even save some money, but it just doesn’t come as natural as other things.

I remember where we really started to learn about managing money.

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Playing With Blocks

Depositphotos_6455618_xsWhen’s the last time you played with blocks? I’m talking about the old fashion, basic shapes, pre-Lego, low tech, wooden blocks.

I was at my granddaughter’s house the other day, and she grabbed me by the hand and took me back to her room. There, among all the toys, was a big bucket of wooden blocks just waiting for us.

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Are Your Dogs Out?

Old Hand Painted Cream and Red Sign: BEWARE OF THE DOGI walk most every morning in my neighborhood. It’s a great time for me to think, listen to music, pray, and make plans for my day. I’ve done this for years and have never had any problems with dogs.

But over the last couple of years, I’ve started having “encounters” with dogs in the neighborhood. More and more, dogs are coming at me snarling, barking, and threatening. I’ve even been bitten a couple of times with one of those “encounters” requiring a trip to the ER.

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