It's nice to be loved.

I am alone for the moment, with my boys gone to the last basketball practice of the season. We spent a lot of time together this past weekend, though, just getting stuff done around the house (really exciting stuff like purging old files that were stored in the garage). Dean had kids coming and going all weekend, and we ended up with someone sleeping over every night, but that's all good with us. We had some yummy food and watched several movies over the weekend.

Last night we watched "Fireproof". I had heard so much about it that I pretty much knew the plot, but it still affected me somewhat, in that it did make me laugh and it made me cry some too. When all was said and done, though, I could honestly say that I can understand why so many people are impressed with it. The idea that you do have good and bad times in a marriage, and that you made the commitment "for better or worse" is one that many people can understand. What is hard to take in for so many couples is that you can make your "worse" times better with some major dedication to the person you're married to. I know I tend to be old-fashioned sometimes, but I believe that we have made it too easy to leave a relationship that struggles (and they all do sometimes). Once the word DIVORCE has been spoken, you can't take it back, and then it just sort of sits there like the elephant in the room. You may not want to talk about it, but it's still there. Obviously, I am not one to judge, having been divorced myself, but, now that I'm older, I do think it's all just a bit too easy. You think if it was harder to get divorced, maybe couples would treat each other better? Makes me wonder.

We have a few couples we know who treat each other with love and respect, even when they aren't happy with their spouse. That's a hard thing to do, but I am working on that part of my life. I have been trying to be less critical and more patient (you all know I am NOT a patient person under any circumstances) when things don't go my way, but now I am vowing to stop trying. I will simply commit to doing it. So, since I started out saying "It's nice to be loved", I will amend that with "and to love back". It must sound like I mean romantic love, and Valentine's Day did just go by, but I also mean any love. Friendship, family, romance, whatever. It's nice to be loved.

And so, my loved ones, I commit to you to be more patient and loving and less sarcastic and critical. Because I appreciate so very much how patient and loving you all are with me. I will make my love fireproof.