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Thursday, May 25, 2006Somebody Slap MeEric and I were enjoying a before-bed glass of wine when my inner shrew surfaced. It started with a mild comment about the next morning's orthodontist appointment, which Eric was supposed to attend with me and two of our two teeth-challenged children. Really, I was just gently reminding him about the 9:00 commitment. But instead of nodding his head and smiling pleasantly like a Very Good Husband, he groaned. "Oh, Jilly, I can't be there. I have an 8:00 meeting tomorrow that I can't miss." These things happen, I know. The reason I got so annoyed is because I'd already rescheduled the appointment once, to accommodate Eric's changing schedule. Mind you, I've been doing just fine at the orthodontist without Eric for several years now. It's just that we've got two children in the queue, and our medical coverage doesn't exactly stretch to take care of both at once. I wanted -- no, needed -- Eric to meet with the orthodontist to go over the financials. Okay, so maybe the orthodontist is cute and I get a little flustered around him. But that's beside the point. So I was fairly angry. And Eric needed my affirmation (the guy works hard and would rather not have a bloody 8:00 meeting) and not my pathetic belly-aching. And you know what? Instead of getting angry back (so easy to do that, isn't it?), he made me laugh. I laughed, and the anger melted, and I felt foolish. Then, a few minutes later, he told me a story that completed my transformation from shrew to humbled, thankful wife. A woman he knows at work was talking with her husband on a cell phone while he was driving in a van with three other men. She lost contact with him, which isn't unusual when it comes to cell phones. But her repeated return calls went unanswered -- all night long. The next morning, a police officer showed up on this woman's doorstep to inform her that her husband and two of his driving companions had been killed in a crash. Gone. Just like that -- snuffed out and gone. If that wasn't a slap in the face, then I'm a lost cause. This woman's husband was ripped from her without a chance to say good-bye, and I was complaining that Eric was going to miss an orthodontic appointment? Shame on me. I'm not going to preach to you about seizing the moment and loving with abandon. The woman's story speaks for itself. Perhaps I needed to be reminded how precious life is, how precious my husband is. Perhaps we all need that reminder. And now I think I'll go and send Eric a love note. Is there someone you can send one to today? |
About Me
I am: Mother to five stunningly individualistic children... Writer of young adult fantasy... Passionate advocate for Women At Home... Madly in love with my husband... In need of Organic Gourmet Chocolate on a regular basis. I've got a Paypal account if you'd like to contribute to the cause....
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8of my readers are feeling chatty:
(((Jill)))
Thank you for this, it was something that I needed to see/read/hear (whatever)this morning!
::snuffle::
I, uh, got something in my eye...
Oh my goodness, that is beyond heartbreaking. :-(
It seems that no matter your woe, someone has it worse.
Again, it's all about perspective. =) I'm glad we are reminded of that. Wow, your blog is like the Chicken Soup for the Soul books (which I love).
We do all need that reminder from time to time. Life is precious. Enjoy every day. You never know what tomorrow brings.
Greg approached me about taking his bike up North for the weekend so we could "go out on it for a date." I asked him if it meant that we would have to drive separately up to Michigan. "Yes." I quickly replied, "No, I don't like that idea." He said ok and never mentioned another word about it. As I was running errands, I could not get our conversation out of my thoughts. It was on my heart that my sweet husband who just purchased a large pool for us, who just built a 6'X 10' sandbox to replace our older smaller one, who never leaves us when he is off just wanted to ride his bike for a while. All I could think about was the fact that "I" would have to drive to MI (1 1/2 hours away) by myself with three kiddos. I never drive when Greg is at home.
I called Greg and told him that if he wanted to ride his Ducati up to MI then I was ok with it. I told him that he does so much for us and the least I could do was to allow him some quiet time with Sylvia (yes, she has a name). I'm still not happy about driving to and from MI but my husband deserves some riding time! :)
You know - you are so right. Sometimes we really get about the little things in life (although all added up - makes it big????).
Anyway, I never, ever leave the house without kissing my hubby and tell him that I love him. I always send him notes via email - so when he gets to the office he has a reminder in writing how much I love him and until we see each other again at night. I have seen it first hand, people loosing their spouse during the day...When I loose the focus of our realtionship because of petty things - I just pray :).
Thanks for another awesome post.
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