While it is no secret that I do not vote Democratic I am old fashioned enough to believe that you work to support those in authority as much as you can without compromising your values and ethics. 

My main issue with the Democratic platform is, and always will be, abortion.  I was glad to read Trench Reynolds this morning who said what I have never really voiced a whole lot…“but because if abortion was legal back in 1968 I might not be here today to tell you my story.”  Except for me it was 1959/60

Anyway…Now and then we will be taking a look at President -elect Obama’s marriage and how it is faring under the stresses and strains of being an American Royal. One thing you have to respect about the Obama’s is their commitment to family and to each other.  This is going to be important in the next four years because literally every stress known to man will seek to crack their fortress and if they haven’t learned to pull closer when threatened then it will be obvious pretty quick.

They have been married since October 3, 1992. Pres. Elect Obama has made family time a priority, spending every Thursday-Sunday at home before heading back to Washington on Monday. That is important.  While many men measure success by what they do at work and how successful they are at it, most women deep down measure it by family time and family cohesiveness.

It is obvious that the Obamas are in love.  Watch them on television or see them in images and you will soon see that they lean into each other, touch a lot, and look into each others eyes.  I find that heartening because those are the things that will allow their marriage to weather the next four years of constant stress. It is important that he be able to continue to make her feel secure and she be able to continue to make him feel like he is all that is man.

My opinion is that in most cases ultimately any person is really only as successful as their marriage is.  The marriage tends to be in our lives what our liver is on our bodies.  It helps filter out things but if we take in too much toxin it gets sick and ceases to function.  Let’s face it, stress can take a toll on marriage.  It will certainly point out all the cracks and weak areas.

The Reagans had a successful marriage.  They were devoted to each other.  I have a lot of respect for Ronald Reagan.   The Obamas are the first couple I have seen in the White House since the Reagans with that type of love and commitment.  Michelle is honest about her husband, yet chooses to respect and adore him despite his faults.

That is the key.  If she can continue to do that, if he can keep his pants zipped in the oval office (unless his wife stops by for a little afternoon delight), and if they can continue to guard their family’s privacy then I think this will be an amazing story to follow.

I wish them well.

Image:Newscom

Post from: Blisstree

Michelle and Barak Obama…The First Marriage

Yesterday, I got wrapped up in a mess, actually cleaning one up. But it was all worth it at the end after I ran across a couple of old photos.

I was in the downstairs bedroom of our house cleaning it. Our oldest daughter and son-in-law had been living with us for about eight months until the end of July, and this had been their room. They had moved back from Pennsylvania dealing with a major marriage issues, and we were trying to help them get through them. Besides if things were going to blow up with them, we wanted our grandkids here in Texas.

Okay, so I digress.

So I am cleaning up now that they told us they had all their things out of the “grotto”(another name for that room). After moving all the furniture, picking up all the debris on the floor that was too big to vacuum, I was finishing up the vacuuming and dusting.  I ventured into a corner cabinet/ stand. It is a piece of furniture that Marye’s dad had built probably thirty to forty years ago.  As I was sorting through trash just left in there and sewing notions and scrap booking things. I found a small folder frame, from a photographer’s shop and opened it up. In it is a photo of Marye and myself along with my brother Bob and my sister- in-law Kathy at a reception table in the American Legion Hall in Rockdale Mass. My family had a reception for us three months after we were married in my hometown for our family to meet Marye for the first time and congratulate us. The second photo was taken at our wedding in Pacific Grove California. It is a picture our first kiss as Mr. & Mrs. Marc Audet. Memories began flowing from both of those pictures. They were all good memories. It made my day, finding those two photos and bringing back the rush of the memories.

Life is good. And so is marriage to Marye.

Image:Marye Audet

Post from: Blisstree

Treasures Where You Least Expect To Find Them.

Kerri, it seems, had other plans. Oh, I mean we’ll be grilling… just not until tomorrow. Instead Kerri decided on a little party: some 2 fer 1’s from the Pizza Factory with a few friends, after which us guys played a few rounds of Shadows over Camelot. (The squire’s challenge is frickin’ hard!) It was a total surprise right up until the moment my friend called Kerri on her cell… only Kerri had left her cell at home while she ran out to pick up the pies.

So, despite not being a person who likes having a big deal made of them, I felt really special. The question is: who was happier, me or Kerri?

And, yes, there were cupcakes.

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Post from: Blisstree

Happy Birthday to Me!

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Post from: Blisstree

Happy 11th Anniversary!

I’m on Day 6 with the kiddos. Things have been going very well, but I’m ready for Kerri to get back in so many ways. (Get your mind out of the gutter.) I’m not really expecting her until bedtime; she and her girlfriend had no reason to hit the road early that morning. So when the phone rings late that afternoon I figure they’re about halfway home. And I’m pretty much right… except that they want to make a pit stop on the way home. “Um,” she says, “can you call the tattoo parlor and see how late they’re open tonight?”

I froze.

Now, as Kerri said, it isn’t that I had an issue with her getting a tattoo. I’ve heard her talk about it for years, and I’m fine with it. It ain’t my body or my pain, right? I just couldn’t deal with it at that moment. The fact that they were in the middle of nowhere on the interstate and her calls kept dropping didn’t help. I wound up leaving her a message saying I can’t cope with this now. She was crushed. This was something she’d been wanting, she was so excited, and I wasn’t.

Rewind: A year or two ago I needed new glasses. My old ones had broken, and after several weeks of putting it off I finally renewed my prescription and accepted the fact I had to go shopping. I hate shopping. I’m also cheap, so I went looking at Sam’s Club. I started browsing through the optical department, and the kids started talking and climbing and fighting and asking questions and giving me their opinions and… and… and…

Yep. I froze. It was just too much for me to handle. We walked away from the optical department, I caught my breath, and a few minutes later I went back by myself to give it another go. (I wound up picking one’s from the kid’s section; I have a narrow head.)

Fast forward back to the tattoo: An hour or so later, Kerri calls back completely crushed and desperate to know what’s wrong. “Remember when I was shopping for my glasses, and I completely froze?” I asked. “I had the same feeling and reaction.” Ah… now she understood. Eventually we worked through everything, and I was even able to suggest she call a friend who might be able to help her out.

And now I’m married to a woman with a tattoo.

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Post from: Blisstree

You Want Me to Find a What?

I woke up thinking, “10 years ago today, at this moment, I was….” and went on from there. I thought about posting along those lines, but really, how boring would that be for you? Exactly.

So, instead, I’ll just say, wow, we’ve packed quite a bit of living into these 10 years. I mean, the five years of dating prior to our wedding included both of our high school graduations, both of our college graduations, a run in with the cops on a date, and other stuff I’m still not brave enough to tell my mom about, yet. How in the world could we top that?

Well, here’s a run down of some of the stuff these past 10 years have brought us:

*2 moves, one new venture into city living (which is where we are now)
*Several job changes
*The births of our 3 kids
*The miscarriage of our second pregnancy
*The death of my dad
*A trip to Hawaii
*Reconciliation with a parent
*Adoption of a cat
*Death of said cat 2 weeks later
*Realization that we are not cat people (that had nothing to do with his death, btw!)
*Church planters
*Failed church planters
*Change in how we live out our beliefs
*Change in some of what we believe
*Blogging
*Pro-blogging
*Lots of petty disagreements
*A few significant disagreements
*More friends than we can shake a stick at
*The disappearance of a few friends that we must’ve shaken a stick at
*More laughter than might be legal
*Almost debt-free living

And tons more that is not coming to mind in these few moments that my kids are being watched by the electronic babysitter so that I can get a few thoughts out here.

Through all the good and all the bad, I know that there is no one else on earth that I would have rather had at my side. Having been through some hard times, I know that we together make a great team (when we remember that we are, in fact, on the same team!) and can do anything together. And the good times? Well, I still feel lucky that I get to share them all with him. I feel like it’s a special gift to be the one privy to all of his little jokes and commentaries. And I’m thankful for that every single day, not just the anniversaries. I have to remind myself that the gifts of the everydays are what make the anniversaries worth celebrating.

Thanks, Bald Man, for loving me.

btw-he doesn’t usually have such a surprised look on his face. this is him being silly while we were freezing our butts off at a Columbus Crew game in April. it was the only recent decent photo I have. but you do get a good shot of his pretty blue eyes

Post from: Blisstree

10 Years of Us