laugh or cry

Elder Neal A Maxwell once said, "We are here in mortality, and the only way to go is through; there isn't any around!" I would add ( Sister Hinckley), the only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

on love... my husbands love




i love joshua. our marriage, like all marriages, isn't perfect, but he is kind and gentle. he is an anchor for the turbulent waters i frequently float my boat in, the life saver thrown aptly to a flailing swimmer.  he is a solid, safe haven for me. my sister, lynaea, says her husband is a tall, strong oak tree in which she can find shelter, strength and shade... i like that analogy for joshua too... but it is already taken :).... josh is more then a staying power, flotation device, or tree in my life though.  josh is very, very, very intelligent, proof being that he married me :).




 he loves, loves, loves to play with his children and will do it as often as he can. he will even, occasionally, change a poopy diaper when he happens to be at home and the diaper happens to be poopy.  he does have some minor flaws like limited cooking skills... the dishes he knows how to cook being macaroni and cheese and hot dogs, hot dogs, tuna melts, baked potatoes, and...well... he claims he knows more but i am not sure what they are :)... he made the macaroni and hot dogs for me right after we got married and i got sick!!! i thought it was morning sickness but it wasn't... thank goodness i have only been right about being pregnant twice... if i had been right every time i would have had a family of 100 by now!... speaking of josh... he just came home and brought my purse in... i had left it on our stroller outside... which brings me to another admirable quality of his, he only slightly and sometimes teases me :)... in an attempt to not make him too perfect, but not stain his admirable qualities too, i will share a light hearted anecdote about joshua...josh does not care about clothing and appearances too much at all.  in fact, when we first got married he would occasionally dress to embarrass me or make me laugh.  one day he and his brother, willie, bought matching camo shorts from wal mart and on the way out josh started putting them on over his clothing.  not knowing how to appreciate the humor of the moment, i rolled my eyes, blushed to that bright cherry red i detest feeling on my face and muttered or yelped, i can't remember which, "josh!'... at the exact moment a man walked by and said, " i can't control my children either!' enough said.






i just finished watching, "the young victoria"... not to romanticize my marriage too much (but i will anyway)... i felt that joshua was mirrored in prince albert (his last mirror was the virginian) ... albert's continual belief and support in victoria is similar to how josh believes in and supports me.  albert wrote to her... like you said, you are stronger than you look (paraphrased).  josh has encouraged me with words very like those, most beautifully after i gave birth to our second son.


like queen victoria, i find myself wanting to ensure that no one crunches my toes while walking on my feet or exerts control in any way (real or imaginary) since i spent a majority of my life impersonating a door mat or mushy fruit, allowing myself to be a victim (be careful, i have known some door mats to bite and mushy fruit isn't really sweet :) so, albert becomes the oil in her water, the anchor, the arms of safety, a tree to lean on, a foundation to build, a life to share together.


i know it is a movie and as such may not have been totally realistic and to believe josh and i are exactly like the people portrayed in a movie is asking for a lot of romantic dreams to be quashed...any dreams based on perfection will eventually fail... we are all too human and imperfect... it used to crush me so when things didn't work the way i imagined them. but i have learned, since my youthful days, to enjoy the real as much as the dream... josh is real. he isn't a dream. i wouldn't trade him for anything with all his perfections and imperfections. how i missed him while i was in oregon. when we cuddled that night (yes cuddling) i felt the flooring in my soul return to its proper place, a foundation rebuilt. i was safe again. i know to rely on another so much isn't safe or wise. eventually, i would like to build a stronger foundation based on other things too,but who better to do it with than someone who believes in you and shares the tools to do it.










1 comment:

  1. Those pictures are sweet. I just got your message on my blog and don't know how to respond there so here I am. Anyway, the kids traveled great. I almost bought an expensive toy to occupy Tate, but he was pleased with a McD's cup, lid, and straw. Go figure!

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