true boy tales: my guilty pleasure

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

my guilty pleasure

Probably #1 on my list of guilty pleasures is Reality TV. Thankfully Jon loves it just as much as I do and we have so much fun watching certain shows together. One of the shows I watch religiously is Jon and Kate + 8 (No...Jon does NOT watch this one with me!!). I've watched it for years and have seen the ugly demise of their marriage. Seriously, every single episode since their separation, I'm left contemplating my own marriage and feeling SO very thankful for my husband and our relationship. I haven't had any very close friends or family go through a divorce (thank the Lord my parents broke the cycles their own parents left for them and have a wonderful marriage) so I've been hooked on seeing the ramifications their decisions have had on them and their family- specifically how lonely Kate has expressed she is now and having to do all kinds of things on her own.
Marriage is hard work. You can't just worry about your own needs and expect your spouse to feel loved or even liked. Getting caught up in self pity or comparing your spouse to anyone else's does absolutely no good! You constantly have to think about your spouse's needs and try to fulfill those and usually, you end up feeling much more fulfilled yourself. I'm so in love with Jon and he's my best friend. I'd rather spend a day with him than anyone else in the world. I love when he's home and hate when he has to leave. My heart just swells when he's playing with Bennett or holding Dawson. He's such a great dad and we keep growing and learning in our marriage. I can say with all the confidence in the world that we will NEVER have to go through what Jon and Kate brought upon themselves.

3 comments:

NikkiNovember 11, 2009 at 7:21 PM
So true Have. If there was a 'like' button, I would have clicked it.
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stacie stanleyNovember 11, 2009 at 8:12 PM
Wow Hav..thanks for your words. So VERY true! Looking forward to tomorrow night.
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Grant and JodieNovember 12, 2009 at 8:02 AM
ok, precious words you speak of your husband.

i too have been watching jon and kate since the beginning (i'm pretty much obsessed w/the show and have seen every episode way too much, ha)
it sucks 1. that things are the way they are b/t them and 2. NO MORE SHOW.. i am incredibly sad.
i just want to call them and tell them to work things out and cont. the show...ahhh so frustrating and sad.
i still pray they work things out.
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for the book lovers {my recent favorites}:

Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan: An incredibly haunting medical memoir. There's a lot of medical info to read through but I didn't find those parts boring and difficult to wade through. I thought she shared just enough. But if you like a book that's easy to read, this isn't it. I couldn't get this one out of my mind for a very long time. An unforgettable true story.
Me Before You by JoJo Moyes and What Alice Forgot by Lianne Moriarty: I'm just going to lump these two together because they're in the same category. I'm calling them deep chick lit. A perfect summer book to get lost in. Read them. Both. I promise you from the bottom of my heart that you will LOVE them. (I liked them both way better than Where'd You Go, Bernadette.)
These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner: Most of my favorite books have a main character with a whole lotta grit. I wasn't quite sure about this one when I first started it but, oh, did it sweep me in and not let me go til the last page. I also love a book that makes me "emote out loud" as I like to think of it. This one had me smiling all the way through and crying my eyes out at the end. It follows a young girl through her life in the Arizona Territories in the late 1800's. A must read for anyone who likes Historical Fiction.
Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill. I LOVED this book. Its a very well researched historical fiction novel about a young girl kidnapped from her village in Africa and sold into slavery. It follows her through her whole life and the unbelievable heartache and trauma she lives through. I've been telling people I liked it as much as Unbroken but the main character is so much more endearing and has so much spunk.
Another Place at the Table by Kathy Harrison. I have a thing for modern day memoirs of utterly heartbreaking stories (Like Breaking Night and Blackbird). This is a Foster mother's first-hand account of the children she took in over the years and the unbelievable trauma they went through before they came to her.
Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls. I loved this lighthearted yet emotional story of a strong woman making the best of a hard life in the Southwest, beginning in the 1930's. I love her writing style--just cuts to the point of every story without too much "fluff" and yet tells it in a way that you can picture everything in vivid detail. Her memoir, The Glass Castle, is one of my all-time favorites, and this true-life novel about her grandmother didn't disappoint.
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. Modern day fiction about a girl raised in Foster homes and her struggles throughout life. She learns about the Victorian Era language of flowers and that becomes a huge part of her life. I finished it in two days. An easy read but very emotional and moving.
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers. The true story of a man's experience after Hurricane Katrina when he decided not to evacuate in order to look after several properties he owned. Quite an unbelievable story and so hard to believe this happened in the US only a few years ago.