January 3-10: Service

My mom told me about a tradition her friend has. Every week, she write at least a little something about herself, her husband, and her family in a little journal. Through the years, this has been an easy way to journal and mention at least something from the week. 

So, I've decided to try it out. These little blurbs probably wont be much on most weeks, but I figure it will serve as a nice starting point to my journaling/blogging.

This week I was back at school after my two weeks off for winter break. Boy, it was tough. I kicked out three students who were misbehaving, and that means I also had to call home and report on their behavior to their parents. It is definitely not my favorite part of my job, and it took a tole on me. There were a few days I definitely felt drained and a little bit sick.

When I told Andrew I wasn't feeling well, he immediately took action. He rushed me to bed, tucked me in, put a movie on for me, brought me water and medicine, tidied up the kitchen. It shocked me; I had not had anyone to take care of me like this in years. Obviously moms are great at that kind of thing, but for a long time I have lived with roommates and friends. They are great too (don't get me wrong), but there is something different about someone a little more intimate proactively taking care of you. It was amazing. And once again it was reconfirmed to me that I married a very good man.

On my end of the service scale, I love making dinner for Andrew and then helping him pack leftovers for lunch. Andrew is always complimenting me on my cooking and raves about it to friends and family when he gets the chance. His coworkers were making fun of him this week when he wouldn't go out to lunch with them, saying, "Oh, you've turned into THAT guy who has a wife to make him lunch." :) It's such a simple thing, but I love spending an hour or so preparing something delicious for us to share. (I might be singing a different tune once kids come along, but we will cross that road when we get there). 

All of this makes me think of some of the counsel our temple sealer, President Greene, gave us before he sealed us. He talked about service being a key part to a successful marriage. Service to each other and service to the Lord. He talked about there no longer being an "I" or "you" in the relationship, but rather a "we" and "us". These pronouns would help us think less of ourselves individually and focus more on supporting each other with love and service. It was a very simple yet powerful piece of advice, one we plan on applying throughout our lives.