Marriage is tough. Kids are tougher.

Marriage is tough. Mine isn't, but I know that lots of my friends and family struggle with finding balance in their relationships. It seems as though nowadays, relationships just "run their course" or couples "fall out of love".... I don't judge anyone, believe me. I've been divorced once and as a remarried, formerly divorced woman with kids; my marriage to Eric is statistically doomed. Don't tell him that, though, 'cause I don't want to give him any reason to "drift apart" from me! No, I don't judge anyone trying to make a monogamous relationship work....it takes constant focus, so anyone who is married with kids can understand how tough that is. I haven't done any formal research or anything, but it seems to me that couples who are experiencing tough times usually have kids around the 5-7 yr. old mark....why IS that?? I'll tell you why-

Because kids suck the physical and emotional energy right out of you.

If you have no energy for yourself at the end of the day, how can you expect to give anything to your spouse?? How can you have a conversation on the phone/in person/locked in the bathroom when those little life-suckers are lurking around, asking questions/fighting/pissing their pants/and listening to everything you say?!!? It's tough! It's exhausting! It's mind-boggling!!!

I pray for everyone trying to make a relationship while raising a family....at the end of the day, though, I know that Eric and I together are bigger than just a family. We love our kids and cherish our family, but when the kids all grow up and leave us alone, we'll be happy together. Ecstatic, actually.....