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.