A Box Of Chocolates And A Get-a-way

My wife Lizzie came home one day giggling, handed me a piece of paper while saying she loved the story on it. It read: “Sally was driving home from one of her business trips in Northern Arizona
when she saw an elderly Navajo woman walking on the side of the road.
As the trip was a long and quiet one, she stopped the car and asked the Navajo
woman if she would like a ride. With a silent nod of thanks, the woman got into the car.  Resuming the
journey, Sally tried in vain to make a bit of small talk with the Navajo woman. The
old woman just sat silently, looking intently at everything she saw, studying every little detail, until she noticed a white bag on the seat next to Sally."What in bag?" asked the old woman. Sally looked down at the white bag and said, "It's a box of chocolates. I got it for my husband". The Navajo woman was silent for another moment or two. Then speaking with the quiet wisdom of an elder, she said "Good trade." While Lizzie continued to giggle I wondered to myself, “Is she trying to tell me something about me and the state of our marriage?”

All marriages are happy, it’s the living together that causes all the problems. Consider a few of the problems that stress a marriage. At the top of the list are financial challenges, household responsibilities, balancing busy schedules, pressures of work not intended to, but most often brought home. Trying to keep communication lines open by really talking heart to heart. This sincere communication is especially hard for males. I once saw a bumper sticker that summed it up. It read “My wife keeps saying I never listen to her…or something like that.” And finally, the ultimate challenge to marriage, that of raising children. Two of my favorite sayings on the realities of raising a family are “If you kill your brother, we’re not going to McDonalds” and “My child has A.D.D. and a couple of F’s”. No wonder a person may consider trading in their spouse for a box of chocolates.

 If you can relate to the above, here’s a remedy I learned years ago. One weekend I surprised Lizzie with a box of chocolates and get-a-way to Las Vegas to hear the Righteous Brothers in concert, you know, “You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling” Righteous Brothers!  What a time we had! After that trip life was lighter! For Lizzie and me it became a tradition in favor of our marriage. The weekend get-a-ways expanded into full blown trips that have included cruises, long walks on the beaches of Mexico and zip lining through the jungles of Guatemala and more. One of my favorite memories was on a cruise to the Western Caribbean. One particular day we had snorkeled at West End Beach on Roatan, an island just off of the coast of Honduras. The fish and coral were spectacular! The water was warm, turquoise blue and crystal clear. On the way back to the ship we stopped and shopped among the local vendors enjoying a good bartering session with those warm, friendly people.

Once on board we dressed up for formal night. I’ve got to admit Lizzie and I clean up pretty good, especially Lizzie. It was lobster night for dinner. We had three each! We finished dinner off with our ultimate favorite desert, “Warm Chocolate Melting Cake”. This desert is so rich you may find yourself after going to bed that night, suddenly sitting up in the middle of the night screaming out scriptures!  Following dinner we went dancing to some Motown.  Took in the evening cruise show, and then sat at the back of the ship eating an ice cream cone under a warm, balmy, star filled night gazing over the beautiful Caribbean Ocean, while talking about life together.  Folks, it doesn’t get much better than that!

So when life begins to take its toll on your marriage may I suggest a box of chocolates and a get-a-way . It will do wonders for your journey together. After all, the first fifty years of marriage is always the hardest.