The other day my friend Molly posted this to facebook:
American Parenting is Killing Marriage
Go ahead and read it, I'll wait.
To this whole article I want to yell "YES!".
If you come to my house and ask my children who Mommy loves best they (should) all tell you the same thing. Daddy. He is who mommy loves best.
I didn't always have this perspective. Back when Jake was first born I was overwhelmed with love for him and the maternal instincts that sprang up in me seemingly at the moment of his birth. I remember trying to talk to Ryan about my love for Jake and how indescribable it was. What happened next is something I will never forget. He took my hands and said, "I love Jake too, so much more than I could have imagined. But YOU are the one whom I love the most."
At first I was shocked. What kind of monster had I married? How could he not love our precious child above all else.
Wow, was I ever wrong.
Ryan is my partner for life. He is my Always. My Forever. My children are my Now and then one day I will give them away to their Always.
Does this mean my kids feel insecure or unloved? No! It means that my children are able to rest in complete safety and peace regarding our family. They know that I love them so much that my heart feels like it will burst but that my loyalty and my heart belongs to their dad. My children, I pray, will not feel the burden and weight of being the one whom I love most. They will, instead, get to rest in the security of that love resting on their dad's strong, capable shoulders. They will know that while our family may, from time to time, be shaken it won't break.
And one day, when my kids are grown and (hopefully) embarking on life's journey with their own Always they will rest easy knowing that their parents are happy and content with the One that we have chosen.
