If the road is easy...you're likely going the wrong way.

 

"Be of good cheer...

your future is as bright as your faith!"

~Thomas S Monson

Once upon a time there was a little girl, who grew into

a teenager, who grew into a woman,

who married the love of her life.

And then

the story began.

One of my earliest memories of married life.
For the most part it was bliss...
honest,
 so when I share this just know, that it is part of the story.

I grew up in a home of modest means, as did my new husband.
We gleaned from the land, cooked almost everything
from scratch.  Forty, years later I can testify
that from scratch is 100's better in every regard...pocket book,
taste, and presentation. 


We had been married a few months.
Still newly weds.
It was fall, the days were still hot, but the evenings brought a nice change in temperature.  I had prepared
a skillet dish, with chopped potatoes, bell peppers, ground beef,
seasonings...and pieces of
beautiful, succulent summer squash.
The aroma, was savory and inviting.

 The table was set for two,
 candles lit and
homemade rolls nestled in a basket.

I was so excited, when my guy got home and said, 
"Umm smells delicious!"
Five minutes later, after washing up and blessing the 
food, I dipped up his plate.
He was busy slathering some butter all over his hot roll.  
Setting his plate in front of him, I expected him to start wolfing it down.
Instead he looked at it with such derision.  
Jumped up
with plate in hand, marched over to sink and proceeded to
scrape his food into the
garbage disposal

"I don't eat squash!"

To be honest with you, I cannot remember the exactness
of what unfolded after that outburst.
Our mind truly does have a way of protecting a broken heart.


I'm sure it was not pleasant, sure there were tears on my part, and
probably a few hours of wondering what the heck I had
gotten myself into.

This thing called marriage.

"The heavens will not be filled with those

who never made mistakes!"

~Dieter F Uchtdorf


Well, just a couple of days ago, we celebrated
forty years of marriage.

We have figured it out.  Number one thing:
I do not cook anything with 
squash.  :)

My guy, has more than made up for that little outburst,
and I have forgiven him, except every now 
and then I have to tell somebody about
it in case they think we are
THE PERFECT
couple.

We are not.
We are just two people who have refused to give up
on each other.

Two people, who are tender with each others hearts,
number one champions of each other, in
success, and rallying in picking ourselves up,
dusting each other off, and trying again, when we stumble
and fall.

We are honest with each other.
This has been a character trait refined with time.
I'm not going to lie, this was a hard thing for me to internalize
and apply.  Lucky me,I had a man, who was to dang stubborn and not going to give up on me. 
 Time has a way of teaching you truth.

1)  Get over it!
2)  Deal with it head on.
3)  Don't forget how fun it can be making up
4)  Formulate a plan of action, that resolves what you are facing.
5)  Thank God, for the lesson.
 

Very little is needed to make a happy life~

We are still simple folk.

Love rides in the country.
Hunting in the mountains, a good book, 
golden sunsets, rain on a tin roof,
the flicker of a campfire,
the silence of a new fallen snow.

Wildflowers in a meadow, the gurgle of a brook, and the rush
of a rising river, while fishing...or not.
Games and adventure with our grand children.
The honk of geese in the sky as 
they head out. 
Laughing out loud, when it is warranted! 

Home made bread, fresh from the oven.
The delights of perfecting your craft.
LG, makes ice cream
that countries would fight over. 

And so, so much more...

We have found that it is in the shelter of 
each other, that we truly
live...
and if the road is easy, 
you're likely going the wrong way~