Copyright 2019 Kelly Guest. All rights reserved.[/caption]
This week, my husband and I will be married for 25 years. Time flies when you are raising nine children together!
A few weeks ago, we were blessed to be able to celebrate early by going on a cruise. It was only the second time in the 25 years that we were able to get away for more than a night and our first cruise together. The experience was magical. Perhaps it was so magnificent because for a whole week I did not have to prepare or clean up any meals. Or maybe because I would leave my room for breakfast every morning and return to find my bed made and bathroom clean. No doubt the powdery, white beaches and crystal, clear waters of the Caribbean islands had a lot to do with the romantic atmosphere. But mostly, our trip was wonderful because my husband and I could be, well, just Paul and Kelly – for a whole week!
I must admit I was nervous about what we would talk about for a whole seven days. I did not want stories and concerns about the children to dominate our conversations. What did we talk about before children? I think it was about having children! I remember how excited we were about what our life together would be like. We could never imagine all that God had in store for us!
I confided my concerns to my sister. She suggested that I look up the Love Map questions or some other questions for married couples. It would be fun and interesting to see how much we really knew about each other after all these years. So, I printed out some questions and took them with us. Every evening, I read a few, then Paul and I would discuss them at dinner. A couple of things happened:
Copyright 2019 Kelly Guest
- I realized that sometimes Paul knows me better than I know myself. For instance, the question was simply, “What is your favorite movie?” Easy one. My husband loves The Godfather. For myself, I was thinking Mom’s Night Out. I love that movie - I laugh hysterically every time and still tear up at the wisdom of biker and tattoo artist, Bones. My husband, however, said “Lilies of the Field.” How could I forget Lilies – a classic, my all-time favorite movie and actor. My husband knows me so well.
- There are some stories about my husband that I had not heard yet, and there were some stories about me that I had not told him. We learned something new about each other.
- Mostly, though, we knew the answers. What a good feeling it is to know that my husband and I do communicate, connect, and listen to each other. Even if we knew the answers, it was still fun to go through them and talk about … us!
Copyright 2019 Kelly Guest
About the Author
Kelly Guest
Kelly Guest was blessed to be a Dominican Sister of St. Cecilia for five years. There she received the many graces she draws upon today as a wife and mother of nine children. Wishing to share with other moms encouragement on our quest to become holy through motherhood, she blogs at Nun2Nine.com and CatholicMom.com. You can also find her on Twitter and Instagram @nun2nine. Kelly's book, Saintly Moms: 25 Stories of Holiness, is due out October 1, 2021.
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