6 days in….

Only 6 days in and I feel like the improvements I’ve been seeing and feeling within my marriage make me feel like we’ve gone through years of counseling. It’s amazing what you can do when you really pause and stay connected with your will power, on top of experiencing God’s grace.

Today was just a normal day. In fact, a lazy one when my hubs finally got off of work. I don’t have some grandiose story to tell about a day like today. It was simplistic to say the least. It was a pajama kind of night. One that I thoroughly enjoyed : ).

Earlier in the day I had a lot on my to-do list (detailing the car for one). Trying to manage 3 small kids while trying to do the things you need to do is no easy task. The summer time heat does not help either. There were a couple of patience-testing times that tried to get me. One thing I noticed by taking on this challenge is that it’s not only helped me with how I’m reacting towards my husband and when he’s around, but it’s helped me to be calmer with how I react during my alone time or when I’m responding to my kids. I’m more patient with them now as well. It’s truly been a complete demeanor overhaul. Besides, if I spend the time away from my husband stressing out, there’s a higher probability of taking my negative attitude out on him later. I have to be conscientious of how I respond at all times. Like I said before, I have little sponges studying my every move on a daily basis.

These past 6 days have honestly been so refreshing. I truly wish that every wife reading this attempts this challenge in some way. One thing that is an absolute must with keeping the mistakes at a minimum, is keeping yourself accountable. Having to write this at the end of each day is definitely doing the trick for me. If you have to write about it or talk about it, just do it. It’s crucial to have some sort of accountability when you’re starting out. If you don’t have a way of keeping yourself in check, you’ll start to give into the excuses that constantly ruminate in your mind. Also, let your husband know what you’re doing so he can help you through it. Talk things over with him. One thing I’ve been doing is reading these posts out loud to my husband. It creates this atmosphere of vulnerability that allows this indescribable bond to form. It’s an incredible feeling. Tears are shed and laughs are expelled. We’ve become best friends again. Just hanging out and sharing feelings without any intentions of trying to change one another.

I have to share this funny little thing my husband cracked a joke about that made me literally laugh out loud. It was influenced by the “king” post….. I always give him a hard time with him not wanting to shave (because who wants to kiss a prickly face). Well in reaction to me begging him to shave, he states, and I quote, “Don’t you want me to be a king? When you think of a king, don’t you think of a beard? Kings have beards. If you want me to be a king, I have to have a beard.” HA, nice try babe, this isn’t Duck Dynasty.

         Anyways……

I thoroughly encourage you to start “hanging out” with your husband again, even if its when the kids are around. Distract them for a bit with a game or movie so you can get that one on one time with your husband to just chill. Pop some popcorn, get in some pjs and be couch potatoes for the night….like one of those slumber parties you grew up having with your friends. Snuggle up close. One thing my hubs and I have to work on is putting the phones away when we finally get downtime together. Sometimes we look like a friggin’ AT&T commercial if we don’t keep ourselves in check. Our Facebook timelines can wait. Our time is more valuable than that. Invest in each other, with interest ; ). It’s worth it.