Showing Love

Speaking of appreciation....


When I get mad at Chris for whatever crazy reason I come up with, 4 things usually happen.

1. I wasp around, pretending not to be mad until I finally explode.
2. I explain in various ways why I'm mad, usually not getting the real reason to roll off my tongue until much later in the argument conversation; he then gets frustrated that I'm even mad about it in the first place.
3. We are silent for a short period of time, we continue to kiss and say I love you and try our hardest to pretend not to be mad, until we finally AREN'T mad anymore (being mad is no fun, it doesn't solve problems, and not kissing and loving on him just does not fit into my schedule).
4. We talk about it. 

The last argument we had, I literally had steam coming out of my ears. The culmination of many things led me to burst (see number 1, above). The next day, he went to work while the kids and I had a snow day. I cleaned the bedroom, vacuumed the house, folded sheets, washed dishes, climbed through 3 loads of his laundry, had dinner waiting on the table for him when he got home, and offered up a foot rub immediately afterward.

But I was ticked off. Why did I do all those things for him?

Being angry does not justify not showing love. He still worked hard all day, he still provided for our family, he still deserves to come home to a woman who loves him with all her heart - even if her mind is still slightly full of steam instead of paper hearts. 

appreciation station.

Life throws curve balls. Sometimes, they're just regular boring slightly curved balls. Sometimes, they're curve balls that shoot a million miles an hour out of one of those machines and it gets stuck and keeps shooting them before you've even had time to swing at the last one and pretty soon you just stand at home plate, ducking every now and then, staring at all the damn balls at your feet.

That's how February has been in our household. It's okay though, because it means all 4 of us have learned how to communicate more effectively (though we don't always choose to do so); it means that we have spent a lot more time together as a family than we had originally planned; it means that we are all learning to give respect if we want to get it; and it means we are adapting every day to being a home.

March is a happy happy month: it will mark my mother's 60th 30th Again birthday, and it marks the first signs of spring.

Ah, I love spring. Flowers and grasses that you thought were dead all winter suddenly come back to life, and front yards look like the fields in Oz, rather than the icky hay-swamps of Nowhere, Midwest [what? that could be a real thing]. You start seeing baby animals every where you go, all your friends accidentally get preggo from being cooped up all winter, your skin begins to glow from the sun instead of the increasing paleness brought on from wind and lack of Vitamin D. It's a glorious time of year. It's a sign of new beginnings. Better things to come. It's the time of every year when I begin to really look forward to everything that's in store.

It also makes me incredibly thankful for everything that I already have.

I want to make sure that this spring (and every season thereafter), I take the time to show my loved ones how much I truly appreciate them. Not just in words, but also in action. Appreciation comes in many forms, and I do not want to stick to just one. I want to express it in every way possible. I want appreciation to be flowing out of my ears in little pink hearts so everyone can see it, feel it, know it, and share it.

Ah, yes. I love spring.