The Houston's Home: Happily Ever After = false

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Happily Ever After = false

Wow, the title of this entry is depressing. Everyone wants to believe in happily ever after, but I'm not convinced it's true. Maybe I'm just getting cynical in my old age, and my mature marriage of 13 years. Ha Ha, no I realize I don't actually know anything, and I may change my mind later, but this is what I was thinking.
I read an article the other day about a handicapped woman who was hailed at being a success story. Her success was that she had defied odds and had found love and had gotten married. I of course congratulate her, but somehow the fact of her success hanging on her getting married rubbed me the wrong way. It was stated as if, now she had made it. Now, she has what everyone wants, "Happily Ever After". When really it's not. I mean marriage is great, but it's not clear sailing after you tie the knot. I think life gets more real when you get married.
I love Disney. I love their movies, I love going to the parks, I love it that my little girl dresses up like the princesses, but I'm beginning to think it's wrong of them to portray the thinking that marriage is a happily ever after. Maybe this mentality is why so many people get divorced. Do we all feel entitled to a happily ever after? And so when things get hard we bail out? I hope not.
There are a lot of ups and downs in any marriage. Mine, since that's the only one I really have license to critic, has had it's fair share of bumps. Three of those bumps have first names and lived inside of me for 9 months. Some bumps are just your regular run of the mill day to day stuff, and some bumps are just between me and my Mr. Houston. But we've worked through them and we will continue to work through future ones, and it's not easy. Part of a quote from former Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley says "most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration".
Maybe you can finally say you are in your happily ever after when you are like my grandparents and have been married for over 60 years, but the funny thing is they still get frustrated with each other today.
Of course we should be happy when someone gets married, but we should also be truthful and let people know it takes a lot of work to make the happily ever last. In fact there may be days that you arent happy. But is it worth it? Oh yes! You have to work hard to find your moments of happily ever after. And yes I know.... I am wise beyond my years :)

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Out Of The Mouth of My Kids

On Easter this year Will had his easter basket full of the little plastic eggs when he accidentally tripped and dropped his basket. When he dropped his basket the plastic egss broke open to reveal the candy inside. Will, in the most excited voice I've ever heard him use said "The eggs open!!!!!!" He couldn't believe there was candy inside- it was the coolest thing to him!
(Easter 2009)

I asked Will one day where the new baby was going to sleep. He said: " in a cage". I guess we now know what he thought of his crib.
(Winter 2009)

I was playing with Will one day. He was pretending to be a robot, so I decided to be a robot too, but he said:
"no you can't be a robot you are a princess"
I said:
"what do princesses do?"
He said:
"they just dance"
(Winter 2009)

We drove by a horse pasture the other day and Claire said:
"I really want a horse. If you don't get me a horse mom I will fire you... ... I mean I will fire Daddy!"
(Winter 2009)

We were talking about where we should go out for dinner one night and Shawn mentioned a new Terriakyi Sushi place. Claire got very excited and said, "Yes! Sushi! Shushi! Please! Please! Please! I love Sushi!" We soon found out she meant a Slushee (like a fruit drink) not Sushi. She does not like Sushi.

Claire: "Mom, I can't make my bed. Will is making me have too much fun." (July 2008)

Will's newest fixation is robots. Yes, we saw WALLE, and that's about when it started. Will can't quite say ROBOT though, so he says "Beebot" instead. It took us awhile to figure out what he meant, but now it's very cute - beebot! (Summer 2008)

William at age 2 still doesn't say too much, but some times he gets on a kick and repeats things over and over, and recently he has found bird poo very interesting. I don't know why, but when we go on walks lately he stops at every white spot on the side walk and says "bird poo- ewwww yuck" this happens over and over and over and over on our walks. I never realized there was so much bird poo in the world! (Summer 2008)

I recently walked in on Claire singing a song she made up to her brother. This is a rare occurance, so I thought I'd better write it here to remember that even though they fight they still love each other. Here is the gist of the song imagine in a very high drawn out soprano:
"I love youuuuuuuuu. You are my frieeeeend because you love to play with meeeeeee and you love to go outside with meeee. I love YOUUUUUU!"
She repeated this over and over and Will just sat there listening seeming to know the song was just for him. I will have to show her this when she is mad at her brother for playing with her "stuff". (Summer 2008)

Claire: "Mom, when I stretch my nose up my nostrils look like bunny ears." (Spring 2008)

Claire had a cough one morning. When she woke up she said:
"My voice is crooked" (Winter 2008)

Claire toes aren't just toes. They are "Weeny Toes" because they are so small compared to everything else. (Winter 2008)

Claire: "Mom, don't step on the cracks or you will get boy slime." (Spring 2008)

Claire (in disgust after we had a carpenter ant problem): "Why did Heavenly Father have to make ants on the Earth?" (Summer 2008)

Claire: "I want to be a cowgirl and a mama when I grow up, and I will have 6 babies and they will all be girls." (2008)

Claire (smiling): "Mom, I can't stand it, I'm so NERVOUS for Christmas" I asked why she was "nervous" and she explains how she can't wait to see what Santa brings for her. I finally figured out that she meant excited not nervous and couldn't wait for Chritmas . (Winter 2007)