Christmas Day 2014 - Never Eat the Last Cookie

I wrote this quite awhile ago, but it never seemed appropriate as a blog post. It's a bit mushy for distribution, we thought. But it's Christmas and we're apart and we thought … maybe, just maybe ... you'd indulge us and overlook the mush and share just a wee bit of our Christmas and year long spirit.

Do you ever ponder why your relationship is what it is? Good, bad, great or wretched, life is what we make it and so are our relationships. We've been blessed with a good, strong relationship. It's survived children, grandchildren, work, wallpapering, owning a business together, the death of a child and living on a sailboat for nearly 15 years. We don't question that it's good, but sometimes we wonder how it worked out as well it did. We've come to the conclusion that, for us, it all comes down to this philosophy … “Never Eat the Last Cookie”.

It could just as well have been “Don't eat the last serving of ice cream” or more to the point … think of your partner before thinking about yourself. Don't just go the extra step; go the extra mile. Don't take the relationship or each other for granted. And just as importantly, don't suffer in silence if there's something's wrong. Get it out on the table; confront it and make it right again. Take good care of each other.

We've both survived previous marriages that failed and we've thought long and hard about what worked and didn't work in the past. Since we failed previously, perhaps we're not the best advisers on the subject, but then again … maybe we can offer something. We've certainly tried hard to determine what we, as individuals, did or didn't do that caused previous relationships to fail. “It takes two”, they say.  When the lust and the luster of a new relationship wear off, you're left with just yourselves (and sometimes a few extra little people) to cope with and it's just not easy. We've certainly had to work harder at some times than others. We're glad we did.

So when you see that last, scrumptious, homemade chocolate chip cookie just sitting there and calling your name ... think twice. Don't eat it. If you subscribe to our philosophy, you'll be sharing it later anyway.

Merry Christmas!