Some advice for these two young people....

exactly 28 years from the day this picture was taken.

 

To her: 

• You know that butterfly feeling in your stomach whenever you see him? Remember it. Spend your lifetime continuing to pursue it. 
• Never forget why you fell in love with him, even if some of those reasons drive you crazy about year 16. 
• Don't force him to have the same goals in life that you do. You are different people. Instead, encourage him in the pursuit of HIS dreams. 
• Never go to bed angry. 
• Admit when you are wrong. It doesn't make you weak. It makes him love your vulnerability. 
• Let go of  that stubbornness already. If you do some of those petty arguments won't even happen. 
• You will feel like giving up many times. Don't. Keep praying. Keep forgiving. Keep loving. He will love you more because of it. 
• Appreciate how protective he is of you and your feelings. One day you will think it is overbearing and controlling and you will try to push his efforts of protecting you away. He is simply loving you the way he knows best and will spend his lifetime trying to protect you from getting hurt. 

To him:

• You know how you always take hold of her hand? Spend your lifetime doing that, especially when you don't feel like it. 
• Never forget why you fell in love with her, even if some of those reasons force you to compromise so she doesn't have to.
• Never go to bed angry. 
• Admit when you are wrong. It doesn't make you weak. It makes her love your vulnerability. 
• Right now....today on your wedding day and the days/months/years leading up to it....you are trying with all your might to be a perfect gentleman. Be that gentleman for your entire marriage. It's one of the enduring qualities she fell in love with. 
• Never force her to be okay with your dangerous side. She loves you. She worries. She always will. 
• Her heart is fragile. It will break at some point. As much as she loves you, she will love you more when you work diligently at repairing it regardless of who broke it. 

To both of them: 

• For better or worse. Remember that. 
• For richer or poorer. Remember that. 
• In sickness and in health. Remember that, too. You will experience all of them. You will get through all of them. Together. With love and determination and prayer and tears and laughter and even a little regret. But you will get through all of them. 

Happy Anniversary to this very young couple who isn't so young anymore.

If you are interested in knowing more about this crazy couple, read the 25th Anniversary Post Here

 

10 completely unrelated very random things

1. They make camoflauge duct tape. How do you find it when you need to use it?
2. Snow is really pretty. In pictures. When I don't have to be in it. Or if I can stay in a car with someone who knows how to drive in it.
3. Have you seen the movie Idiocracy? The Jerry Springer Show is proof this movie could come true.
4. I got one of these a couple of months ago. I spent an entire weekend in it upon arrival. It was a beautiful thing.
5. I also got new glasses. I would post a picture but it has been so long since I blogged on a regular basis I forgot my password to my on-line picture album. Schweet.
6. I'm currently tearing my back yard apart to do a simple diy remodel. The remodel itself will be painless...but the tearing up of the current layout is making every muscle in my body revolt.
7. Regardless of how many hot flashes I experience my feet always remain ice cold. Someone please explain this to me.
8. I love coffee. Almost as much as I love the Wizard of Oz. But not quite.
9. I bought pretty yard gloves to tear my back yard up. I thought having something pretty and feminine and fun would make it easier to continue through the work day after day after day after day. Fail.
10. I think I may have a bunion. My grandma had bunions. This does not help me in my quest to feel young again.

Adam and Eve and Menopause

Let's face it, people. The journey to menopause just sucks and I blame Eve. This HAS to be part of her punishment for that whole apple business.

 As I sit here peeling off layers of clothes while experiencing my 874th hot flash of the week, I have to wonder how Eve dealt with this mess. It's not like she could jaunt off to the doctor to beg for a little pill to make it somewhat bearable. It's possible she didn't even know what the heck was making her feel so edgy and horrible to begin with. Nobody had any previous experiences to share with her, form support groups and blog about it so the internet world could come rushing to her aid. Heck, the only one she could talk to was Adam. And after her 27th emotional outburst about how the leaves were making her butt look fat I'm thinking Adam didn't really want to talk to her anyway. And there was that whole apple episode. He was probably still a little resentful over that. I'm sure

Eve was just an emotional, hormonal mess anyway but then throw in that whole sibling rivalry with her sons? Can you imagine? It's not like Cain and Abel were fighting over the back seat of the mini van. Cain killed his little bro, people. KILLED him! How did hormonal-ravaged Eve even wrap her head around that? Maybe she wasn't even old enough to be in menopause at that point, but we really have no way of knowing. Either way, hard to get over that. I get very sad when my kids are at odds with each other. But killing each other is a little beyond being at odds with each other, don't you think?

 So if you haven't already guessed I am experiencing all the joys of a 40-something woman going through the "journey". I didn't pack bags for this journey. I didn't make travel plans or purchase tickets. Oh, no. This journey is free. It isn't costing me a dime. What it is costing me are happy days filled with the once-present-easygoing-will-she-ever-return Cheri. I even opted out of facebook because I couldn't find it in myself to read about one. single. more. happy. family. So unlike me to not feel joy for other people and even feel a little....*gasp!*....jealous. It's part of why I haven't blogged much. But only part of it. Things that I could normally work through emotionally take an enormous amount of effort to process. I like for my blog to be reflective of my fun, happy side.

 Basically I couldn't find my fun, happy side the last 10 months.

 But it's peeking through again. I went to the doctor, something Eve did not have the opportunity to experience. Little by little I seem to be overcoming this beast called perimenopause....the state of going through the process but not quite being IN menopause. I'm processing things better. And I think I might actually be okay.

 Yes, only 4 short months ago I thought I was going positively insane.

 And I didn't have children killing each other.


 

Bad Blogger....Bad, Bad, Bad Blogger

Hello? I'm still alive. Are any of my readers? Or have I lost you all by being a bad blogger?

A bad, bad, bad blogger. *sniff*

I have things to say. I always do. We know this, people. So maybe I should start talking again. Or maybe some of you are happy I finally shut up.

We'll see which it is....