On Being Intentional

I have all sorts of things that I want to write about, but one thing is more important than the rest, so everything else will just have to wait. (keep posted for a discussion about my job applications and GRE test in a later blog post...)

Two years ago today, Donald Trump was elected as president. (Don't worry, this isn't a political post, so don't get your hopes up/get out your pitchforks.) 

Do you want to know what else happened two years ago today?? Ryan and I got engaged! Which is SO much more exciting than election stuff! 

November 8th, 2016 

Funny story, last night I wanted to go get a delicious dessert somewhere, but we also wanted to eat dinner and not be outside anymore, so Ryan told me we could go get a delicious dessert tonight instead. Later, I said "Oh this is perfect! It makes way more sense to get something yummy tomorrow night than tonight! Do you know what tomorrow night is?" and Ryan said "It's the November 7th, the anniversary of when we got engaged, I'm not stupid!" and I said "Tomorrow's the 8th." and he then he swore. So close. 

Anyways, it's fun to be married. It's not always easy, but it's the best decision I have ever made. 

This week I've been thinking about what it means to be intentional in my relationships with others, particularly with Ryan and Rose. It can be so easy to let life pass you by. I can waste an entire hour sitting on my phone, and only partially paying attention to Rose, or I can let a whole day go by without giving Ryan a kiss. Sometimes we get caught up in all there is to get done, that we forget to just be together and build our relationships with each other. 

Spencer W. Kimball said, "If one is forever seeking the interests, comforts, and happiness of the other, the love found in courtship and cemented in marriage will grow into mighty proportions. Many couples permit their marriages to become stale and their love to grow cold like old bread or worn-out jokes or cold gravy. Certainly the foods most vital for love are consideration, kindness, thoughtfulness, concern, expressions of affection, embraces of appreciation, admiration, pride, companionship, confidence, faith, partnership, equality, and dependence."

I don't want to go on and on and on, but this week I've been really trying to seek the interests of Ryan, to think intentionally about what I can do to serve him. On Saturday, I decided to surprise him by bringing him lunch at work, and he totally lit up. It was such a small thing, but it made me feel so good to be the reason for that smile on his face. 

So, I suppose my little piece of advice would be to be intentional this week. Love the people you're with and make sure that they actually know how much you care about them. Even if it's something small. 


PS. Enjoy our family pictures that we tried to get before all the colorful leaves fell. (We were too late, but the pictures turned out cute anyway.)