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Wednesday, November 26, 2014

The Five Love Languages

Early in my writing I spoke of the book "The Five Love Languages".  This book opened new doors of understanding for me in how to love and how I need  to be shown love.  This book and the web site opened the window on why I am constantly hugging Handsome.  Or why I always am the one to kiss him.  Physical touch is a main love language for me.  If I do not get that physical touch, I do not feel loved.  I have told Handsome this, but I still am the one who always reaches out first for affection.
I have tried to not be the first one to reach out, but after a few days with no physical affection, I cannot go without, and I reach out for it.
I will talk with Handsome about it, and he will be ok for a few days, but then reverts back to me doing the touching just so I get my love fix.  It hurts me, truthfully, but I am not sure at this stage of the game that Handsome will ever change his ways.
But this book did help me.  It helped me recognize so many things about how and why I love, and how and why Handsome does what he does.

This is the web site  http://www.5lovelanguages.com/

check it out, I firmly believe this book should be required reading for all people who are engaged.  I believe had I had this information back when we were younger, it would have changed so very much about our lives.

The other book I recomend to all husbands and wives is
http://smile.amazon.com/How-We-Love-Discover-Marriage/dp/1400072999/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417020371&sr=8-1&keywords=how+we+love&pebp=1417020374374

I am reading it now, and it is eye opening.  Truly explaining so many things about the differences in Handsome and I and why we love the way we do.  Very very good book.

I know when I started this blog, I spoke of my husbands emotional affair and the tole it took on me.  I still struggle, not every day, but I still have moments of wondering whether we made the right choice,  my self esteem will probably never be the same.  But, I know that Handsome does love me, and I know that I love him, and I know we both love God, and we want to honor that love and commitment.  It will be thirty years this year, and frankly, neither of us can picture life without the other.
Marriage is hard.  There are so many steps, there are so many hills and valleys.  We grow and change, life changes, children change, everything changes.
If you hold on to the reason you love, you can weather those changes, you can ride the waves instead of being overcome by them.
God promises us that in this life there WILL be trouble, He never said it will be easy.  He did say that if we honor and trust Him, He will make our path straight.  He will not leave or forsake me.

If you are married read the Five Love Languages, even if you are so deliriously happy you could never see any issues.  It is eye opening. It is a short read that will open so many eyes.

I wish all of you a very Blessed Thanksgiving.
Peace and Blessings
LTW

Monday, November 17, 2014

Extended Family, and the new family unit.

So in our house, we care for my mother in law, who moved in with us thirteen years ago.  My youngest child also lives at home, he/she is in their early twenties.  Now I will say, I never ever thought that MIL would be here this long.  NEVER.  But regardless, she is still here.  It has seriously had repercussions in my marriage , and it took a very long time to get used to, but she is not really a problem and in my family, family takes care of family if at all possible.  Handsome has other family members, but trust me, they have nothing to do with the care of their mother.  She is lucky that they call her twice a year, it is sinful, and I finally this year called out the worst offender.  They do not talk with us anymore as a result. My post today does not really have to do with my mother in law, but with my child that is living at home.
I read an article today speaking about how kids are living at home longer.  I posted it on facebook, and really did not expect to see any comments on it.  Wow was I wrong.  It elicited a very lively conversation between people who are friends.  The article came from the positive aspects of having a child at home, but my friends, some who have kids, some who do not commented how awful and lazy she was.  How she was not learning about life.  She had a boyfriend, but they did not live together, and she was staying home until the timing was right or marriage.  This started me thinking, how many people think we are wrong for letting our child live at home still?  How many would just boot their child out the door at 18 or if they did not go to college?  My parents did that to me.  I love and adore my parents, but what they did, did not help me.  It gave me a very rough start in life.  I had to move in with my now husband.  We struggled for years.  Juxtapose that against my oldest child, who we let live at home til they  were  prepared. they  stayed at home, later got engaged, and then got an apartment.  they  married, they bought a house, and two years later had kids.
It was a blessing to child number one, and a blessing I have no problem with child number two.  They do learn responsibility!  They do learn about caring for others~, no person can live in our house with out being productive and working and sharing the load.
We enjoy our time with our child.  This child is a huge help in caring for our mother in law.  If this child did not take that responsibility seriously, handsome and I could never get away for a break or a trip.
It makes me wonder if our country may be going back to a time not long ago when the extended family was not a curse but a blessing.
I am curious what you think, maybe I am completely off base here, but I do enjoy having my family close to me!
Blessings!
LTW

Monday, November 3, 2014

The death of Brittany Maynard

I am so saddened and horrified by the death of Brittany Maynard.  I truly believe that she was exploited by the right to die people.  My feelings on this are personal, I watched with my husband , our best friend of over thirty years die of the same thing that Brittany had.
But because of watching how our dear friend died, I know for a fact that someone gave that poor girl false information.  Someone, I believe the right to die people, filled her head with scenes of her end that were untrue, that were lies to further their agenda.
I will give you a brief rundown of the death of our best friend.
S was in the prime of his life, 2 young teens, one older son graduating collage.  He and his wife were jogging one day, when S got winded, and started talking to his wife in gibberish.  She immediately took S to the hospital and within a day they were given a death sentence for S.  He had the worst type of glioblastoma possible, with no hope of cure, and they gave him very little time.  Six months.  They gave him a death sentence, but they DID NOT tell him he was going to die a horrible death.  They gave him treatment options that may give him more time, and he wanted that time, he wanted to make memories with his children, he wanted to get everything in order for his wife, so that when the time came he could die in peace knowing he did all he could to ease his families suffering when he was gone.  They took time, they made memories, wonderful memories.  He watched his daughter go to her first formal dance, and preform on the stage in our city, a big stage, with a Broadway troupe.  He watched his son as he became better and better at the sport he loved, hockey.  S's son was going to make his dad proud, and he went out and played the best hockey of his young life, so good in fact, that the pro's started scouting him with in a month of his fathers passing.  At 15.  A freshman in high school.  His wife and he had a romantic getaway.  Was S in pain?  Some, but the truth of the matter is that brain cancer is NOT that painful.  The brain does not feel pain the way the rest of the body does.  Yes, S was heavily medicated against seizures, and yes, he lost his words.  But he was living every minute God gave him.
When I heard Brittany Maynard say that she was told she was going to die with terrible awful pain, by a Dr. I KNEW no Doctor told her that.  Not one Doctor would tell a patient that they were going to die a horrible death, because first brain cancer is not as  painful as other cancers, and second, hospice exists so that you do not have pain at the end. I digress, let me finish S's story.

At one year, we celebrated with champagne and blueberry pie the fact that the Dr's were wrong, and S not only was alive, but he was enjoying his time with his family.
S did start to fail at sixteen months.  He was still up with his family, still met his children at the door after school, but at that point he needed someone to be with him, to make sure he did not have a seizure or fall.  We all volunteered, and I was there on Wed, my day to hang out with S and help out.  When I got there, I knew.  S was in the process, in the final process of dying.  I called his wife, told her that it was time to call hospice. She knew, but was having such a hard time accepting the fact that the time was coming to an end, that she could not face it.  But S did not want to die at home, because of his children.  So the decision was made that he would enter hospice that evening when a room became ready.  S walked to the car with us all around him.  S walked into hospice. In the three days that followed he said a final goodbye to his children, told them he loved them, hugged them, loved them.
S slowly lost consciousness, did he have pain?  Not much, they gave him morphine.  Did he have anxiety?  Surprisingly no, he had accepted what would happen.  They gave him Valium to help keep him relaxed. On the third day, his wife was in his bed and told him she would be ok.  That he had done such a good job of preparing them, that they would be ok.  She told him he was the love of her life, that he had made life worth living.  Then she told him it was ok to go.
S died five minutes after that.
I believe that Brittany Maynard was exploited by the right to die people.  Not one Doctor would have told her what she said, that she would be in agony.  But the right to die people would have told her that.  It would scare a young woman who had not lived enough years to gain the wisdom to make this decision.  I was haunted in her interviews that she was focusing on the fact that medicine had made her gain weight, she was "horrified" by the way she looked!  That broke my heart.  Those words spoke of a young woman who was not making a decision based on wisdom, but on fear.
Fear of looking bad, fear of loosing control.
I do not believe she was a Christian, she never said a word about Gods comfort.  My heart aches for her.  I have witnessed the death she may have had, and she could have had so much more time to spend with her family, preparing them, giving them memories that they could hang on to.
This death opens a door that we as a society should not be opening.
My heart hurts for the days that Brittany threw away.
Peace and Blessings
LTW