(picture outside of my bedroom window when I lived in Jefferson, TX)

After a long day of photo shoots for my other blog, I got to thinking about how my life has completely changed since I’ve been married. I started thinking about how some people prefer to be married, and some people actually prefer being single. I think the most important thing is that whether you are single or coupled or married, that you embrace it completely.

(my living room when I was teaching. The room was already pink… I thought I would just go with it! Looks like Barbie’s cottage I know. LOL)

It’s important that you find yourself peacefully content in whatever season you are in. When I was single, there were definitely more moments where I loved it than moments that I hated it. One year, I taught high school English where I went to high school, at the wish of my dying former English teacher. She had Leukemia and wasn’t able to continue. She asked me to take over. During my single years, I couldn’t think of a better opportunity… and I relished in the space I had.

(brought the tree blooms inside)

The school put me in a four bedroom house all by myself. I had one room to sleep in, one room to exercise in, one room for all my clothes, and I rented out the last room. Looking back, juggling Freshmen to Senior classes and coaching girl’s basketball, plus dealing with being the Freshmen sponsor, I realized I wouldn’t have been able to juggle it all if I was in a relationship. I needed that time alone to also settle issues of faith… to figure out what my parent’s faith meant to me, what I wanted to take from it, and what I wanted to leave behind. That year, my faith became my own.

The view outside my kitchen

What I’ve learned is that every season, whether single or coupled, has a purpose. There’s no need to feel like you’re missing out on anything. Throughout the course of your lifetime, most likely, you will experience all these seasons, sometimes even more than once.

Now that I’m married, I wouldn’t go back to being single. I’m happy to give up the four bedroom house that I had all to myself, to have Nate’s warm embrace every day, to have this person next to me who makes me feel like I don’t have to entertain. I can just settle in because we are home. It’s home because we are together so comfortably. To me now, home is that feeling that you can just relax. And every day I want Nate to come home so that I can feel more at home, because I feel more relaxed when he is around.

If the person you’re with doesn’t make you feel relaxed, do you really EVER come home? That’s something to think about if you’re not married but you’re in a long term relationship. It may be time to say hello to the single life again.

another view of the kitchen...

It’s been raining, and my poor hubby has been outside working all day. I can’t wait for him to come home so I can feed him and warm him up:) When I was single, it felt so nice to just have me to take care of, but now that I’m married, it’s even nicer to have someone else to take care of. Sometimes my favorite evenings involve a good movie, making a nice homemade dinner, and just relaxing on the couch, sharing our day and a good laugh.

It’s so simple, the things we really need to be happy. There’s nothing in the world I would trade for our time together unwinding in the evenings. The best things in life are shared. Even if you’re single and you’re eating Ben and Jerry’s on a lonely Friday night, call up your friend to share the tub with you. I promise it will be SOOOO much better just because you’re sharing the experience with someone else.

Last week Nate and I watched “In Time” at the theater. Pretty good movie. Tonight, on this rainy, cold November night, we are going to dig into some homemade chips and salsa and watch this chick flick! Looks funny:)

Have a great weekend!