Marriage

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My husband and I have taken some wonderful vacations during our fourteen year marriage and have seen many great places. We have visited National Parks, such as Yellowstone in Wyoming, Glacier in Montana and Acadia in Maine. We have visited almost every state in the United States at least once. We have enjoyed driving through Canada as well. Such places as Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Thunder Bay have also been our destination a time or two. We go by car so we can enjoy taking our time and going at our own pace.

One year we took a vacation into Canada around the Great Lakes. We normally take our vacations during our anniversary and this year was no different. I had made reservations at a great sounding “getaway retreat.” I was looking forward to that night especially.

When we arrived it was still light out and my first thought when we came to our little “getaway” was to question my sanity at choosing this place! It wasn’t anything like I had envisioned and I was less than enthusiastic, to say the least, when we pulled in beside our “little romantic hotspot” for the night. It was an old, rustic, dreary set of cabins set off from the road in bad need of repair and some paint. When we walked in I found the furnishings were sparse and old and it had definitely seen better days. The curtains were threadbare and I could hardly see out of the windows they were so dirty.

The cabin had a living room, kitchen, tiny bathroom and bedroom. As far as space is concerned it wasn’t too bad. It just wasn’t what I would call “an ideal place” for celebrating an anniversary. But my husband loved it. From the moment he got there he was happier than a tick on a coon. He loved the Franklin stove in the living room and seemed to take no notice of the cabin being anything but the greatest inside and out.

I had to make a choice right then and there. Do I swallow my pride and make this night an unforgettable one for the right reasons or the wrong reasons. I knew I could make it miserable for both of us if I chose to.

In all the articles I have read on the subject I have found that most happy marriages are made up of two people who know how to compromise. They learn to share their lives without worrying needlessly about the “what ifs.” Pride could have taken over and become a real nuisance that night for me. I could have cried and made him go look for another, more worthy, place for us to enjoy our evening together. I am learning more and more that real love is more about caring for my husband and his needs and making unselfish decisions than any other thing I could do. I knew my husband was satisfied with my choice of destinations and I just made my mind up that I was going to enjoy our time together.

We went for a walk hand in hand before it became completely dark. We had a simple supper consisting of sandwiches, chips and pickles. We sat before the Franklin stove eating. When we turned out the lights and sat together on a blanket on the floor enjoying each others presence before the firelight I knew the Lord had blessed me in a very special way. That anniversary night is unforgettable to me for all the right reasons.

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