It was 1998. I was attending a Mary Kay retreat on the Oregon Coast w/ my Mom. I was a peon consultant, she was an upcoming director.
We were listening to someone speak (please Jennifer, don't ask me who. I can't remember). They asked us to write down the name of a couple whose relationship you respected. I wrote down the parents of a friend. They had been such a loving, funny, giving couple...ever since I could remember. I was friends with their daughter & had been since age 3.
My Mom had seen the name I wrote & immediately got offended. I didn't understand that she had expected for me to write her name down as the best marriage I had seen. It took until this morning in the shower, reliving that horrible day of arguing, for me to get it.
She yelled at me for quite awhile explaining that the husband had cheated on his wife at work. He'd gotten caught by fellow coworkers. The wife was humiliated in our small town where everyone knew. They had moved out of town to get away from the drama. (please note that all this info is hearsay, I don't know the exact details)
Maybe it's just me, but I respect that woman. To work through the trouble spots instead of giving up. Most of us would rather give up than put effort into our relationships. How easy it would have been to walk away. It must have been difficult to stay. To hash things out. To earn trust again.
I think of them so often in my own marriage. How would THEY treat each other if this happened? Would THEY be able to laugh this off?
I hope my marriage has the ability to help someone through their tough times. I bet this couple doesn't even know the effects they've had on me & my husband. I think of them quite often, even though I haven't seen them in 17 years.
Is your marriage an example of tolerance, forgiveness, diligence, love? Mine isn't always, but I put energy into it. If I don't...who will?
We were listening to someone speak (please Jennifer, don't ask me who. I can't remember). They asked us to write down the name of a couple whose relationship you respected. I wrote down the parents of a friend. They had been such a loving, funny, giving couple...ever since I could remember. I was friends with their daughter & had been since age 3.
My Mom had seen the name I wrote & immediately got offended. I didn't understand that she had expected for me to write her name down as the best marriage I had seen. It took until this morning in the shower, reliving that horrible day of arguing, for me to get it.
She yelled at me for quite awhile explaining that the husband had cheated on his wife at work. He'd gotten caught by fellow coworkers. The wife was humiliated in our small town where everyone knew. They had moved out of town to get away from the drama. (please note that all this info is hearsay, I don't know the exact details)
Maybe it's just me, but I respect that woman. To work through the trouble spots instead of giving up. Most of us would rather give up than put effort into our relationships. How easy it would have been to walk away. It must have been difficult to stay. To hash things out. To earn trust again.
I think of them so often in my own marriage. How would THEY treat each other if this happened? Would THEY be able to laugh this off?
I hope my marriage has the ability to help someone through their tough times. I bet this couple doesn't even know the effects they've had on me & my husband. I think of them quite often, even though I haven't seen them in 17 years.
Is your marriage an example of tolerance, forgiveness, diligence, love? Mine isn't always, but I put energy into it. If I don't...who will?