A List of 10

Several years ago, I heard a story about a woman who had been happily married for 30+ years.  She was asked by a younger woman what her secret was.  The woman stated that in the beginning of her marriage, she had decided that she would make a list of 10 things her husband did that bothered her, and those 10 things, she would choose to let them go and not let them irritate her.  The younger woman then asked her what was on her list of 10 things.  The woman replied that she never actually made a list, but every time her husband did something that irritated her, she would just say to herself, "Well, that's one of his 10 things."

Eric and I talked about this story yesterday, then we sat down and started to work on our lists.  Yes, we're writing them down because if I don't, I'm more likely to say, "Well, that's NOT one of the 10 things, so I'm going to nag about that."  Thankfully, neither of us could think of 10 things, so there's still room on our lists!  But during one of my Quiet Times recently, I read Mark 9:35, where Jesus said "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."  With that in mind, I find it so much easier to pick-up and clean-up after everyone.

On a lighter note:  Earlier, while cooking in the kitchen, I decided to let Nathan play in my cabinet of tupperware and mixing bowls to help keep him occupied and out of trouble.  On a scale of 1-10, the noise Nathan made was maybe a 2 or 3.  But then Michael saw Nathan playing with the mixing bowls and decided he wanted to play, too.  I'm sure you can easily imagine how much fun he had and how joyously a 2 1/2 year old boy can throw stainless steel bowls at each other and on to our slate floors, purely for the joy of watching them bounce off each other and hear that magnificent "CLANG" and "CLONG" they made.  The noise level was so loud that I started to worry about hearing damage for all 3 of us!