Monday for me was what an online friend and fellow author described as ‘happy bookday.’ It was the day my novel Streets on a Map was published.
While it will be available in bookshops, it is also going to be available from my website. Since I am nobody’s idea of a computer literate person, once again I had to rely on that darling husband of mine. Not just to help me celebrate although there was some of that, but to carry in the boxes of books that are now stored in my study.
Then he went in and set up the PayPal button for people to be able to buy Streets on a Map from my website. It all took time that he could have been using to do other things that he needed or wanted to do. That’s what marriage is all about, ‘give and take,’ said a couple who recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Neville and Doreen claim that ‘give and take’ is without doubt the secret to a happy marriage. It’s obviously worked for them and although we‘ve got a few years to go before we get to the 50 mark; I’d say it works in our marriage too.
That means when he has something that is important to him I need to be able to drop whatever I am doing and make time to celebrate and direct my attentions to whatever he needs. This morning, that has involved helping him move some heavy items, when really I would rather have been working on the computer and dealing with sales hat had already come in for Streets on a Map. But he wanted to get it done then before the guy he meets with came to study the bible. So, I gave up what I wanted to do to accommodate him.
This Christmas and throughout the year ahead, let’s all try and keep in mind that marriage requires give and take. We need to be prepared to make time for those things that are important to our spouse. Tonight I’m making Salmon Patties for Mick just because I know he likes them.
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