Investing in the Cornerstone

One of my facebook friends put this up as their status last week "A favorite way I can invest in my kids' marriages: having my grandkids here so Dad and Mom can have some time alone."  I almost cried when I read it.  What an insightful Mom.  This is one of those things that I want to remember when I am a grandma.  I want to be there for my kids to help them be the best parents they can be, and sometimes giving them some time to spend with their spouse is the best thing I will be able to do for them.

Providentially the sermon this morning hit the fact that marriage is the chief cornerstone of the family.  If your marriage is not strong, your family will suffer.  You can invest all kinds of time with your kids, but if your relationship with your spouse is not right, it won't matter.  Sometimes Rick and I  spend so much time dividing and conquering that we forget we are in the same war.  A few weeks ago when I posted on living in the new life, one of the things I was going to do was spend more time with Rick.  Unfortunately he has been out of town at least two days out of every week since then.  I find that when he is out of the house for extended periods of time I get in my "taking care of business" mode.  I have my schedule and my system going and when he walks back in the door with his own rhythm of doing things it throws me off.  Then I get annoyed, instead of grateful that he is home.

It is very easy to let other things crowd in and take the time that I need to spend with him.  During the sermon I was trying to think of ways to connect with Rick while he is away.  He was leaving directly after church, so I knew I wouldn't be able to talk to him.  I could send him an email, but there is nothing more deflating than getting an "out of office" reply to your love note.  We have two weeks left of school so I know our schedule is going to be tight until we are done.  I need to schedule in a walk, or lunch or something this week, or else it will slip by and next thing I know it will be August and I will be wondering what happened to our time together.

Maybe he will read this post, and at least he will know that I was thinking about him.  I watched his basketball video from his senior year in high school, the kids thought he was the best looking guy on the team, (no offense Scott.)  Funny, I remember thinking we didn't have enough time together way back then. Boy, did I have a lot to learn.