Business Time

My husband and I had the opportunity to go on a marriage retreat last weekend in Flat Rock.  We had a great time learning from His word about communication, conflict, and laughter in marriage.  We learned about true intimacy, the kind that happens as we spend life together, as we remember the times we've had the the dreams of what is yet to come.  We had such a great group there and had a GREAT place to stay!  If you and your special one need to get away, this place will set you up!  I'll include a link to their site so you can check it out.  Mountain Lodge

I think every couple needs a refresher course in love every once in a while.  We all get so bogged down with kids, work, money, tax season, laundry, keeping the house clean, and just life in general, not to mention those specific things that each couple deals with uniquely.  Sometimes we have to just get away from it all and relax, laugh, and remember why we started this journey in the first place.  We were lucky enough, along with another couple, to be able to stay an extra night.  We needed it.  They needed it.  We had a blast just walking around Hendersonville (though the guys would disagree, I'm sure), eating some great pizza, and just spending time together.  We also had an awesome planning session for the impending zombie uprising (more to follow another day).  That's the mountaintop.

Then you come home.  You walk in the house and the mad rush you were in to leave two days ago has left reminders all over your house.  The load of laundry you had to do in order to pack now has remainders all over the living room.  The dishes you so desperately wanted to get done BEFORE you left are now waiting for you, with two days of rest waiting on them.  The litter box stinks.  The toys that were rifled through in the selection process for Grandma's house are right where you left them.  Why, oh why, didn't the Retreat Fairy come and clean while you were gone so you can hold on to that blissful feeling just a little longer?  Slowly the lovey-dovey feeling begins to give way to the realities of parenthood as the kids come home and are cranky because the grandparents have spoiled them ALL weekend.  Dinner has to be fixed.  Baths must be done.  Bedtime is a nightmare.  Luckily I escaped a lot of this because I had Bible Study.  Thanks, honey!  And bills must be paid because the tax refund is here, and what else do you do with it when you're poor?

So the week begins and I'm ready.  I am ready to tackle the medical bills that have been looming over our heads for too long.  I have my debit card, checkbook, magnifying glass, a stack of bills, and the phone.  And I'm off.  And as the next four hours go by I become more and more disgusted with thee bils that I DIDN't know about.  More money to them, less to us.  Grrr.  I want to go back to Flat Rock, back to the Mountain Lodge with its indoor pool and fireplaces and suite that magically gets tidied up with fresh towels every day.  Sigh.

So I get back on the old computer that is SOOO slow that will now definitely NOT be replaced this year with tax refund money because Lexington Medical Center needs a new wing and we have been voted the ones to fund it, and someone has posted a video.  This video was played at the retreat, after a warning by our leader (yep, our pastor) about its "sensitive" content. It brings a smile back to my face and reminds me that God gives us everything we need, and in my case that includes a wonderful supportive husband.  I click "Play" and laugh again at the song.  It gives me the perspective I need to dig in and finish what I need to do, because I know that one day soon, maybe even Wednesday, it will once again be "Business Time." :)