Monday, September 28, 2009

The power of "we..."

For twenty five years I have been one half of a couple. My husband and I would agree, if you asked us, that we are blessed to have an unusually good marriage. And yet, there are times when I imagine, for a moment or a day, being single again. It may be hormones that cause this thinking, or some irritation that my partner causes, or a combination of the two. At these moments my mind trips gaily along, thinking of what life would be like if I wasn't half of a union. In my imagination, the thoughts along these lines are typically sunny.

And then, I listen to my conversation with others. "Oh yes," I hear myself say, "We liked that movie." Or, "We loved our trip!" Or, "We worked hard on that project." At these times I recognize the extreme power of "we."

Early in our relationship, when I was shallower and even more self centered than I am now, my husband said to me, "I love knowing that we are in this together, that we always have each others back." At that point I was all about him having my back. I was not always so interested in guarding his, however.

Thankfully time has bestowed gifts upon me, and one of those gifts has been the ability to grow into our "we-ness." I recognize the wisdom of my husband when he helped me learn that the way to a long union involves keeping the other half's best interests at the forefront. When those occasions come that have me thinking that flying solo might be fun, I am often lured back into marital harmony by thinking how very much I enjoy all sentences that begin with that magical little word, "we." Those two letters, joined, are a mighty pair.

2 comments:

Sean Patrick said...

I am often lured back into marital harmony by thinking how very much I enjoy all sentences that begin with that magical little word, "we." Those two letters, joined, are a mighty pair.

"Marital Harmony" I can only assume you feel getting "Married" has stengthened your bond after reading this post. Should marriage be an option for everyone? no matter who they chose to love and include in their personal
"we-ness"? Who's to say?

Jeannine said...

thank you !! What a wonderful tribute as we enter our anniversary month ! (& HE is getting grumpy from too long without a job)