A Newlywed Truth

Learning from one another.






Mike has taught me so much over the years. For example, he's taught me how to approach tough situations in a calm manor in order to navigate through more effectively (as opposed to making quick decisions based on emotions). This has been a wonderful tool for me and part of the reason I can't get enough of him.

He's also taught me about the wide world of sports which contrbutes to the reason we still need to spend time apart now and then. I'm not just talking about watching sports on TV (which, by the way, is the quickest was to get me to leave a room entirely). Mike'e also taught me all about the world of community league sports. You know, the kind made up of men and women who played sports in high school and want to continue their interest for the game into their adulthood. Now, I love the fact that Mike gets to play soccer on a team. It makes him happy and "fills his bucket", meaning it's an activity that excites him and makes him feel good. On the other hand, he gets hurt which I can't stand. He's suffered a severly sprained ankle, a bruised foot, and the latest... a bruised knee which required an MRI to determine it wasn't anything more serious. My thoughts on this: Enough already! Mike's thoughts on this: Getting hurt is a natural risk when playing sports. This is where he completely lost me. I needed some serious remedial help to understand his logic. We're talking flow charts, repition, and s l o w explanations because I was flabergasted that he still wanted to continue playing even after racking up a huge medical bill from kicking a soccer ball. Could it really be that important? The answer was yes and, like I said, I needed some serious help understanding this conclusion.

After our coversation in which Mike explained, in detail, his desire to play sports I had to do two things as a learner of this new information: I had to reflect and simplify. In case any other wives are going through the same thing as me, I thought I'd share my simplification of this whole "Boys and Sports" thing inspired by none other than... Dr. Suess. Here goes...

Boys play sports.
Mike likes sports.
Mike likes sports boys play.

Sports hurt.
Mike plays sports.
Mike gets hurt playing sports Mike likes.

We have knees.
Mike has knees.
Mike has knees to play sports Mike likes.

Mike plays sports. Sports hurt knees. Mike's knees hurt playing sports but Mike still likes sports.

The moral of the story is, apparently playing sports is worth the risk of an injury and you can't limit your activities just because of the risk of injury. If this is hard to swallow don't worry, I understand. Just re-read the simplification I have inlcuded above (feel free to substitute Mike's name with the name that suits your purpose, it's flexible like that), breath deep, and we'll all make it through. I think I've made my peace with this information... until his next injury. (large sigh)