Sick Kids...Crying babies...and Whiney Friends!

Except for my bread posting I really haven't taken the time to write this week. Mostly because of my mood! My kiddos have been really sick and Abbie doesn't seem to be happy unless she's being held and I just haven't felt like sharing happy thoughts...Have I had any happy thoughts this week? I'm sure I have. They've got to be in there some where.

Any way, between being sick myself, dealing with my sick hacking children and husband (darling as they may be) and trying to maintain my house I really had had my fill of trying to be cheery. When all your energy is spent it just seems to take to much out of you when you think someone is being foolish.

A friend of mine called me this week to tell me all about how horrid her husband is...AGAIN! Knowing her situation isn't the best I tried to be patient and listen. Please keep in mind that this friend is a temple endowed mother of five. As she went down the list of crimes her husband has been committing recently, and not so recently, and last year, and 5years ago, and so on... It began to wear on my patience!

This woman is one of my dearest friends but some times I feel like I am listening to a recording of previous conversations. She tells me how her husband doesn't obey certain commandments pertaining to marriage (non of which are serious infractions) and I remind her that he is human and tell her she needs to forgive him. At which she begins to tell me she does forgive him...and then gives me the list of all of the things she has forgiven him for! Ahhh!

Do I have the word forgive all wrong? Isn't part of forgiving...forgetting? I know it's impossible to completely erase some things from your memory but my husband and Ihave this unwritten rule. We don't rehash past arguments. If I mulled over all of the sins that John has committed toward me and our children over the past 11 years of marriage there would be NO WAY for us to live in harmony. I assume that the same would be true if he were to maintain a running list of my infractions.

So any way, there I go again listing my values and thoughts on marriage and husbands...I could write a book. Heaven knows I have plenty of opinions! She's too picky...If she doesn't like fighting she should STOP... She should be more patient...more loving...more kind...blah, blah, blah...

All of a sudden, in the middle of a sentence, I realize that I am saying exactly what I need to hear! My friend jumped off the phone with me super fast. She always does when I start to tell her she's wrong. So there I was sitting..and THINKING. It seems that every time I start to become annoyed with my husband this friend calls. So I began to wonder and I've been thinking about it.

Could it be that my heavenly Father knows what I know, and knows that I just need to be reminded of that knowledge from time to time. Hmmmmm. Pretty interesting when you think about it.

I do not ever want to become a "husband brasher" again! I was one once and it nearly destroyed my marriage. I worked hard to get out of that habit. I truly believe that my friend is the very image that I could become and it scares me more than I can say. When I have been married more than 20 years (as my friend has) I would hate to be so bitter and angry toward my husband. The years of angry nasty feelings, I fear, will destroy their marriage and children eventually.

I pray that the Lord continues to guide me in loving and forgiving my husband on a regular basis. I pray that my husband will always be as forgiving of my faults as he is now. I am so thankful for my marriage and my family and the gospel that is such a part of our daily life.

I don't really know if there is a point to any of what I say and I am sure I'll need to proof read some things but all I know is that we, American women, would just get over that "Women are the dominant species" crap, we would be a lot happier and the divorce rate would plummet to all time lows! Women, lets ban together and choose to support, love, understand, and reverence our husbands!