In marriage, a lot of times it's the little things more than the big ones. Beth Westcott is our guest poster today, talking about how something as simple as buying groceries can be romantic. See what you think. Six weeks after my college graduation, a year after we met, we were married. Like many newlyweds, we had little money for the extras. We lived in a small, upstairs apartment with mostly borrowed furniture. We seldom ate out or went to the movies. Our vacations consisted of visits with family. But every other Friday morning, when he got his paycheck, Frank and I shopped for groceries. I suppose it doesn’t sound romantic, but we learned that, on a very limited income, the simple things we shared mattered. We learned more about each other as he pushed the shopping cart, and I loaded it with $25 worth of carefully chosen food. Although it hasn’t been a consistent practice throughout our almost forty-seven years of marriage, due to jobs, illnesses, and raising children, we still enjoy grocery shopping together. Through the years we have also developed the habit of taking walks. We hold hands, and we talk, or we just enjoy being together. The exercise benefits our physical and mental health as well as our relationship with each other. We’ve had dinners out, gifts, and special occasions, but for us, the warm, feel-good, do fun and special things for each other part of a marriage have been mostly in simple things: we’d go window-shopping; he washed breakfast dishes to give me time to get ready for church on Sunday morning; he took the kids on a errand with him to give me a break after a day of homeschooling; he allowed me to be a stay-at-home mom and to develop as a writer; he still opens the car door for me. I worked with him in Child Evangelism Fellowship and as he followed his calling as pastor in several small churches. Although these things may never be defined as romantic in the pages of a romance novel or in the screenplay of a Hallmark movie, they have helped keep our marriage alive and healthy. ![]() Beth grew up in rural New York and graduated from Hartwick College. She worked with her husband in ministry for 39 years. Her first Christian romance novel, Meadow Song, was published by Mantle Rock Publishing in 2018, and a second, Heart’s Desire, is pending publication in March, 2021. She is the mother of three adult children and grandmother of five granddaughters. She lives with her husband in Otego, New York. Follow her here. ![]() Meadow Song To escape painful reminders of her dead fiancé, artist Kate Greenway flees Mountain View to work for her florist friend Ellie in Millvale. A year later, Kate takes up her palette and brushes again to fulfill a life-long dream of earning her living as an artist. Blythe Chambers, a motherless little girl, introduces her to the song of the wind blowing through the blue spruce in a meadow, and to her uncle Jack. The two young adults are drawn to each other. Kate is ready to move forward with her life and love, but the tragic deaths of loved ones leaves Jack fearful of commitment to Kate. When Kate’s mother is diagnosed with cancer, she returns to her hometown to help care for her. Will Kate fulfill her dreams for her art and a relationship with Jack? Will Jack overcome his fears and realize that life without Kate will be his greatest loss?
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
This is a place for me to share thoughts and ideas not just related to writing. Thoughts about what's going on in my life, about an idea I got that I thought shareworthy, or just a funny anecdote.
Categories
All
Archives
December 2024
|