If I learned anything over 25 years of marriage and parenting three kids out of the nest, it’s the price to earnings ratio of spontaneity. Choosing to say yes to the spur of the moment costs very little in sacrifice and has a huge payoff in emotional reward.
The hubby and I invested a large sum of relational currency into spontaneity this past Labor Day weekend. We bought two one-way tickets to Boston to purchase a used Jeep my husband was coveting, then took the long way home via an epic road trip—up the North Coast of Massachusetts and down through the Finger Lakes of New York on our way back to Ohio.
Uninterrupted quality time makes for a perfect setting to talk about a quarter century of togetherness. So, as part of the adventure, we decided to create a video documentary along the way called: Life As We Know It: A Tell All (most) About 25 Years of Marriage and Parenting.
We had no plan whatsoever for our topics of discussion. Our only goal was to allow God to lead us to opportunities for sharing, using different settings and experiences along the route as a guide. We also decided not to rehearse anything once an idea emerged, but rather start filming without knowing much of what the other person would say.
Trust me when I tell you we recorded our talks with a full spirit of authenticity. Too much truth at times… Thank you, goofball husband. Therefore, the video clips are about as real and transparent as they get.
Our marriage discussions touch on the value of quality time, getting away, letting go of expectations, and the power of investing in your relationship.
As for raising kids, we discuss the high-risk decision we made to implement no consequence conversations during the teen years, staying the course in prayer, and the joy of letting life do what life does. Specifically how kids don’t operate on clock time, but rather embrace the moment in front of them. Going on this road trip was our way of putting into practice this gem of a mindset.
Our experience over two and a half decades proves that love goes a forever way—even and despite all the tough stuff getting in the way of our happy place. We’ve had our fair share of ugly, painful, scary, frustrating, debilitating life events and agonizing seasons as parents and lovebirds. Yet, somehow, some way we have managed to pull this marriage thing off with a ton of hard work, a lot of patience, gobs of forgiveness, and never-ending reliance on God’s grace, love, and provision.
You can see all 16 episodes on my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/shelspear/videos/1009192515920422/ each is linked to the clip above which is Episode 1.
Be spontaneous, crazy Mommas!
Do you or a fellow Momma need some heart encouragement? Subscribe to Shelby’s monthly Grace Notes and
Shelby Spear
Shelby is a Certified Emotional Intelligence Coach, Certified Meditation Teacher (CMT), author, freelance writer, speaker, and love enthusiast who is passionate about helping others ‘change the way they look at things so the things they look at change.’ She has numerous stories featured in the national publication, Guideposts. She also has over 160 featured articles at online publications, including Her View From Home, Scary Mommy, Parenting Teens & Tweens, For Every Mom, Love What Matters, and Today. Her book, How Are You Feeling, Momma? (You don’t need to say, “I’m fine.”), co-authored with her dear friend, Lisa Leshaw, recently won the 2020 Publisher’s Weekly Book Life Prize as the finalist in the Inspirational/Spiritual category.
