Thursday, July 25, 2013

Motel 6 and "We''ll Leave the Light on For You"

Back in the day, actually, about 20 years ago, when Tom Bodett of Motel 6 fame promised to leave the light on for all of us, I remember what a homey feeling his voice had and the thought of someone leaving the light on for me made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. The Motel 6 adman did a wonderful job of making me, and I am sure plenty of others, feel as though Tom Bodett and the people at Motel 6 really cared about me. I haven't thought of that campaign or Tom Bodett for many years, until the other night Chuck was due home after dark, and I decided to leave the light on for him. At one end of our circular driveway there is a lamp post. During winter months when I would arrive home from substitute teaching and running errands, I could almost count on the light being left on for me. It made me feel the same way those ads for Motel 6 did...warm and fuzzy inside, and as though someone cared about me. Only this time, it's Chuck that cares about me, not Motel 6. Wanting to share those same feelings of caring, I left the light on for him. And I started to think about my life before Chuck. In my first marriage, I don't think I was as conscious about doing those little things. I may have been before kids, but not to the extent I do those little things now. That's one of the things a second marriage does for me. It gives me a second chance to think about the things that really matter in a marriage, and to make sure I do them right THIS time. I try not to spend too much time dwelling on what went wrong in my first marriage. I have been there, and done that and I think I have it figured out enough to learn from my mistakes, but not dwell on it. But I do realize that life is short and I do not have eons to get this marriage thing right. I only have whatever time God gives me with Chuck so I need to make each day count. That means doing those little things that add up to a loving and caring marriage. It means making sure when I replace the toilet paper roll that I put it on the way Chuck likes it. ( It doesn't matter to ME mind you, but since it does matter to Chuck, I try to pay attention...if you have read this far, please leave a comment below just for fun about whether or not you like your toilet paper to come down from over the top of the roll, or from underneath)! Here's what I mean: Do you like your TP to dispense from over the roll (left) or under the roll (right)? Or does it matter?
And there are other things too that matter, and I try to remember. Like after I get water out of the refrigerator door, I try to remember to put the lever back on ice so when Chuck goes to get ice, he won't end up with a glass full of water. And to make sure I keep the door to the guest bathroom closed when not in use. Now in case you think it's all one sided, Chuck does the same for me. I don't like it when cupboard doors are left open so he tries to close them now where once he didn't pay attention and would shut them only when he noticed. And I don't like kissing him after he eats onions so he tries not to eat them when we will be spending an evening together. I think in marriage, whether first, second, or sixth...keeping track of those little things and trying to keep an eye on them to please a mate is a very considerate thing. And consideration means caring. I am doing much better at making a point of being considerate in my second marriage and not take my husband for granted. My second marriage is giving me a second chance to get it right! And for that I am grateful.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

A Romantic Trip to Tanglewood in the Berkshires

This past weekend, Chuck and I went to Tanglewood. For those of you not familiar with it, Tanglewood is in the Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts. It's the summer home of the Boston Pops. Each year, throngs of picnickers and classical music enthusiasts flock to Tanglewood to enjoy both the ambiance of an outside picnic in the summer, and the beautiful strains of classical music outside, under the stars. Chuck enjoys Tanglewood for the classical music. I enjoy Tangelwood for the whole experience...the cool green grass under my bare feet as I sit in a lawn chair and wiggle my toes in it...the taste of picnic food out in the fresh mountain air...the tangy taste of wine as I gaze at the mountains around me...the excitement of other Tanglewood fans as they share their own picnic dinners with family and friends, gazing up through the trees as I lay on my back on a blanket and gaze at blue sky and fluffy...white clouds as I listen to the strains of classical music wafting through the fresh summer air...and the enjoyment I have of being here, together with my husband, both of us full of joy and excitement and love for the event, and for each other. Yep, that sounds pretty mushy, but it's the truth. Here's the set up of our portable table, before dinner...
At one point in the evening, after dinner and before the concert, I was laying on the blanket and looked to my left to see Chuck leaning back in his chair and enjoying the view, and then I looked to my right and saw the beautiful view of the Berkshire mountains surrounding a lake, and I honestly couldn't decide which view I liked better, so kept turning my head periodically from side to side to enjoy the man I love enjoying himself, and also the amazing mountains that are the Berkshires.
People who attend the concerts have a choice of either getting lawn tickets, or purchasing seats inside the shed. The shed is actually a pie shaped building where the musicians sit to perform, and three of the sides are open to the lawn. I enjoy the lawn, but Chuck loves to get seats so we can see the musicians and hear the music better. We usually compromise and go up one weekend a year, and watch the concert on a Saturday night from the seats inside, and enjoy a concert from the lawn on Sunday afternoon. Here's the shed at Tanglewood...and looking up through the trees from our picnic blanket (below)
We were fortunate to be able to enjoy a concert Friday night inside the shed, and Saturday night out on the lawn. I am a very blessed woman to be so in love, and to have the love of a man who is so wonderful, kind, honest, intelligent and considerate. And every morning, I do thank God for that.

Friday, July 5, 2013

Second Marriage Means Getting a Second Family

The thing about getting married a second time is not only do you marry your spouse, but you often get a lot of instant family members in the deal. I am fortunate that Chuck’s family has seemed to welcome me with open arms. That is a nice feeling. I think his family did a better job of welcoming me than my family did of welcoming him. Well, I’m talking about two of my three teen aged kids, and I guess we know how testy they can be. I think everyone else is happy Chuck’s in the family, and hopefully my kids will come around.
On June 1st, we went to Chuck’s grand daughter’s graduation from high school. Hannah is a beautiful girl, both inside and out and she shone on graduation day. I have included some pictures of her and Chuck and I. The ceremony was very nice, and I was really happy to be able to share in her special day. We added on our trip to Big Canoe to Hannah’s graduation so we could make sure we were able to both explore Big Canoe and make it to the graduation. The trip was definitely worthwhile on both counts. We are still working on making it to Big Canoe. The house needs a few things done before it can go on the market, and hopefully we can get those done soon so we don’t miss the “summer market” which I think means getting families into a new home before the start of the next school year. There will be more updates on this coming…