Pet Peeves

All right, let's admit it. As wonderful and great as our husbands are, there are probably a few things that bother us, too. We aren't perfect and the things that probably annoy us aren't moral issues or matters of conviction, but rather irritating or thoughtless actions by others. The ones that can really get on our nerves are those things done frequently by those who are closest to us. So, here is my proposition: pick one pet peeve that your husband does and make it your goal to get over it and decide to live with it and don't let it irritate you anymore. Your marriage will be that much sweeter and life a little happier if we can knock off some of these silly things that can disrupt our peace and unity. Try not to mention the issue to you husband again, don't roll your eyes when it happens and (we all know this) NEVER nag! Smile and get over it!

Yes, yes, easier said than done. Let me give you an example from my sister. (By your leave, Denise and Jonathan. :) Her husband will come in from his hunting or what not, forget to take his boots off and sometimes leave tracks in their carpet. Now, we all might get irritated at this, but she had a better perspective. Her husband gets deployed for months at a time and also he is sent on smaller assignments where he can be gone for weeks. She told me she decided she was just glad he was home to make the tracks in the carpet! Imagine his surprise (if he noticed) of seeing his wife cheerfully cleaning up the mess he accidentally made and not being "reprimanded".

Another case in point: something that bothered me was when my husband would leave his socks inside out and I'd have to turn them the right way to wash them. As much as I adore my husband, I didn't relish the idea of sticking my hand in his work-worn socks every time I did laundry. Now, I mentioned it to him a couple times and he tried to remember to turn them right-side out. It was a sweet gesture, but after a day of his kind of work he would be exhausted and forget. I realized I didn't want to add any more "burdens" to his day. I wanted him to come home and feel like he could relax and not be treated like another child or even an "equal" member of the house. After all he worked to put food on the table, so to speak, the least I could do was turn his socks right-side out! I learned to do it and do it with a smile because I was grateful for the hard work that went behind the dirty, inside-out socks!