Tuesday, June 3, 2014

BE Society June Challenge - Days 2 and 3



I only found out about the challenge yesterday, so I started out a day behind.  Going to take care of that today by combining days 2 and 3.

~~~oOo~~~

Prompt for June 2:  Describe 3 legitimate fears you have and explain how they became fears.

1.  Falling / especially backwards.

When I was little, I fell down our basement steps.  The steps were bare wood and did not have a railing.  The basement floor was bare cement (or is that concrete).  I can never remember which is which.  I can't even be sitting in a rocking chair and have someone come put their hand on the back of it.

2.  Something bad happening to one of my children in some sort of traumatic event or illness.

Just call me Mama Bear.  If someone can be pin-pointed as the cause of my child's injury or illness?  Even if it was unintentional, they should probably run and hide and give me a chance to cool down.  If it was intentional?  They should run and HIDE.  Or just go straight to the police and turn themselves in.  Get some locked iron bars between us ... for a good long while.

Sometimes fears make you crumble.  Sometimes they provide a platform for you to grow in strength of character.  Obviously this is something on which I am still working, because I chose "door #3" - letting fear fuel anger.

3.  Reaching 300 lbs. (a fear that no longer exists).

I have been within the same 10-20 pound range for at least a decade.  The last time I had a large increase in weight was when I was pregnant with my daughter.  If I kept going the way I started out, I would have topped 300 lbs.  When I took the 1-hour test for gestational diabetes, I did not have to go back for the 3 hr test; they sent me straight to the diabetes nutritionist.  The more I weighed, the worse it would have been for my daughter.  I gained (and lost) the same 8 pounds for the length of the pregnancy.

~~~oOo~~~

Prompt for June 3:  Describe your relationship with your spouse.

Chris (my husband of 17 years as of May 9th, 2014) and I complement each other - as in where one of us is weak, the other is usually strong.  IMO (in my opinion), that is why couples who are both celebrities, or doctors or politicians have a rough go.  There's too much ego and competition involved.

We support each other when one of us is struggling.  We celebrate each other's successes.

We are not perfect.  Far from it.  Take education for instance.  I have a degree.  I have a B.S. in Finance from Westminster College in Salt Lake City.  I graduated with honors - magna cum laude.  My husband went to college for a semester or two after graduating high school, then stopped.  He had been given the idea that he could not hack it.  I believed in him.  And I believe in him now.

He started back to college 2 years ago.  For the first year, he maintained a 4.0 GPA.  I think he got a "B" or something this last year, but he has been invited to be a T.A. for one of his 1st year professors.  And when he transfers to UK, he will have a similar opportunity.  I couldn't be prouder of him.

But I also admit to a 'little twinge of envy'.  You see, I started back to college, with an eye towards getting my Master's Degree.  I thought since it's been 20 years since I got my degree, I should take some undergraduate courses to dust of the skills.  This time it's me that's struggling.  I bit off more than I could chew, and it's costing me. *sigh*

But that is my problem.  And I'm certainly not going to allow it to become an issue in our marriage.

Both Chris and I have the opinion that marriage is not a destination vacation.  We don't arrive and live in paradise for the rest of our days.  Marriage is more like driving cross-country in the middle of the night, over roads you we have not travelled before.  It's kids saying "I gotta go", even though you just stopped 10 miles ago.  But it's also being able to look back and see what you have accomplished together.  It's kids running to you when you come home from work and giving you a big hug.

Our relationship is the type where we still come together to embrace and dance every time our song comes on the radio ... the song that (in a sense) brought us together more than 17 years ago.

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