The Ball and Chain

Just Married: Ken and Joan.  Congratulations and here's to a happy life together!

Dad and Joan

     My dad got married on Jan 6th.  It was a nice ceremony.  I met Joan and her son Eric and his family.  I'm happy for my dad.  I can't wait to know my new stepmother better.  Watching them take this step has made me think of my marriage this week.  I've been remembering our dating and certain times and events that were significant right up to the current date.  So I decided to share some fun memories and experiences about my marriage.

Lyle, me, Joan, dad, Wendy and Mike

     On our first date Lyle and I went to an Eclipse Christmas concert.  One of the members of the band was my home teacher and gave me some tickets.  It was really fun.  The first time I met the kids we took them to Jungle Jim's and had a lot of fun playing together.  Boy, those rides say an adult can fit in them, and I did, but it wasn't exactly comfortable.
     I remember our first argument...or what I thought was our first argument.  We'd been dating and had been talking about getting married.  I wanted to make sure Lyle wasn't expecting some stellar super-wife, but a normal person so during the conversation I started telling him all my faults so he would know what he was getting into, potentially, by marrying me.  The conversation went a little along the lines of:

Laura: I'm not perfect and I don't want you thinking I am.  Then you'll be disappointed.  I can be pretty mean sometimes.

Lyle: I love you so much.

Laura: No, really.  I have bad PMS and I'm really grumpy in the morning.  And I have a temper too!  And I don't like people telling me what to do, either.

Lyle:  You're so wonderful!

Laura: I swear when I'm mad!  And sometimes when I'm mad I don't talk at all, or I get up and leave and go somewhere else or if you bother me enough I'll start yelling!

Lyle: I can't wait to marry you!

     I realized that I was going to have to trust that Lyle was still going to love me when I wasn't at my best.  Thank goodness, he has.  After the argument Lyle sat me in his lap and sang a song to me.  Not a love song.  I'm not sure why he sang Peter, Paul and Mary's "The Lemon Tree" to me since it actually talks about a father coaching his son not to trust in love, but ever since he did that, it's been one of my favorite songs.  My husband can sing, but he can't keep in tune.  And I absolutely love it when he sings to me!  He doesn't need to sound like an angelic choir, because when he sings to me I know he loves me.  And that's all that matters.  Besides, it's kind of cute when he's singing and he changes pitches in the middle of the song (multiple times) without meaning to.

     Lyle is SUCH a teaser.  He loves to tease me and the kids.  That's hard for some people to picture.  He can be shy when he first meets somebody and sometimes can come off as standoffish or somber but he really isn't. 

     He's super smart.  He does well with numbers, so he's constantly adding/multiplying/dividing/figuring percentages for numbers large enough that I would need a calculator or at least a paper and pencil to figure it out.  He's good with computers too.  He is constantly helping me, his parents, my mom, etc with computer problems.  

A typical response when Lyle's teasing me and I'm starting to get frustrated!

     We've been very happy in our marriage.  There are days he absolutely makes me nutty (though I'm thinking that says more about me than Lyle) but he's so loving and respectful towards me that it makes it hard not to do everything I can to make him happy.  He's an optimistic person which is good for me since I tend to the realistic or borderline pessimistic point of view.  He's also very good with finances.  He makes sure we always have credit cards paid off and are saving money.  He has a credit score of like 790!  He's extremely physically healthy.  Especially for his body type and weight.  And he may not look it but he's very fast.  He will beat you in a race every time!  

     We tend to be strict parents, but not harsh.  Our kids do well with chores and punishments at our house because he's so constant with his parenting style.  We also like to have a lot of fun with the kids (as mentioned Lyle teases them endlessly and they adore it).  We think of fun activities or just sit around and talk with each other which is very enjoyable too.  We have funny kids.  He's an excellent husband and father.

     We've all heard the analogy of marriage is like being shackled to a ball and chain.  Well, if that's the truth, then lock me up and throw away the key.  I love being married to Lyle!

Laura