My favourite picture ever taken of Ryan and I.
This is a speech I was asked to do for a RFC Ladies Fellowship Bridal Shower a couple of months ago. Since then, it was published in the EMC Messenger, and has been requested for use in a marriage seminar. I thought I would share it with those of you who have not already read it.
I wish I had known my husband was human right from the very beginning, instead of burdening him with all of my high expectations. I’m still occasionally guilty of expecting too much from him – but God is teaching us everyday about each other, and I still truly love every moment of it. ©
Why I Wish I Had Known That My Husband Was Human
By Heather Plett
My husband Ryan and I have been married for a year and nine months, and before that, we had dated for over three years. You think you know everything about a person when you’ve dated that long, but since then I have learned that there will always be something new to learn about my husband. However, there is one thing I wish I had known about him before we got married. I wish I had known that my husband was human.
You may laugh, but it’s true. Instead of marrying a human husband, I thought I was marrying my prince charming, or maybe he was my super hero. Or perhaps I married him thinking he would be my new little puppy dog.
When I married Ryan as my prince charming – I expected constant romance. Breakfasts in bed on Saturday mornings, notes of “I love you” left around the house, poetry boasting of his love for me in every card, and constant reminders of how beautiful I am… But, that didn’t happen. At least, it wasn’t exactly like that.
So, maybe I had actually married my super hero. Ryan… the Rugged. Someone who would be there to catch my every fall, wipe my every tear, be at my side in every situation, and say the right thing every time. He was the one who would save my life. I’d never have to worry about anything ever again! But, that didn’t happen either.
So, whom had I married? A new little puppy dog? Yes! A new little puppy dog. I would train him to be just what I wanted him to be. He would do everything just as I would ask him to do it – and always on command. Yes… I would train my new little puppy dog husband to be perfect. But, guess what? That didn’t happen either.
So, where was my prince charming? Sure, there are romantic things that happen now and then – but not every day. I came to realize that I hadn’t in fact married prince charming after all. I had married Ryan, and Ryan was human – not a fairy tale character. My prince charming gets tired. Sometimes he needs me to initiate a little romance. And now, when romantic things happen – I appreciate them so much more.
And my super hero husband? Well, Ryan the Rugged can’t always be there to catch me when I fall. In fact, sometimes he falls too. He wipes away my tears when he can, but sometimes he needs someone to wipe away his tears. And, he certainly doesn’t always have the right thing to say. Now I realize that this is because he is human. Not an artificial cartoon character created by someone’s imagination. Ryan was created by God, and God put him in my life for a reason. I’ve come to appreciate the fact that sometimes Ryan’s silent presence is all I need to feel secure. I’ll leave the part of saving my life up to God.
And as for trying to train my husband like a puppy. Well, we all know that if you marry someone with the intention to change him or her – you are in big trouble. I’ve learned over the last year and half that we need to learn to compromise. I can’t train Ryan like a puppy dog… but, now that I think about it, there are definitely rewards that I can offer that will encourage him to do things for me… but that’s not the point. The point is that when I married my husband, I married him for who he is – and not who I can change him to be. Any changes that we make for each other are simply acts of love and simply a bonus in our married life together.
By Heather Plett
My husband Ryan and I have been married for a year and nine months, and before that, we had dated for over three years. You think you know everything about a person when you’ve dated that long, but since then I have learned that there will always be something new to learn about my husband. However, there is one thing I wish I had known about him before we got married. I wish I had known that my husband was human.You may laugh, but it’s true. Instead of marrying a human husband, I thought I was marrying my prince charming, or maybe he was my super hero. Or perhaps I married him thinking he would be my new little puppy dog.
When I married Ryan as my prince charming – I expected constant romance. Breakfasts in bed on Saturday mornings, notes of “I love you” left around the house, poetry boasting of his love for me in every card, and constant reminders of how beautiful I am… But, that didn’t happen. At least, it wasn’t exactly like that.
So, maybe I had actually married my super hero. Ryan… the Rugged. Someone who would be there to catch my every fall, wipe my every tear, be at my side in every situation, and say the right thing every time. He was the one who would save my life. I’d never have to worry about anything ever again! But, that didn’t happen either.
So, whom had I married? A new little puppy dog? Yes! A new little puppy dog. I would train him to be just what I wanted him to be. He would do everything just as I would ask him to do it – and always on command. Yes… I would train my new little puppy dog husband to be perfect. But, guess what? That didn’t happen either.
So, where was my prince charming? Sure, there are romantic things that happen now and then – but not every day. I came to realize that I hadn’t in fact married prince charming after all. I had married Ryan, and Ryan was human – not a fairy tale character. My prince charming gets tired. Sometimes he needs me to initiate a little romance. And now, when romantic things happen – I appreciate them so much more.
And my super hero husband? Well, Ryan the Rugged can’t always be there to catch me when I fall. In fact, sometimes he falls too. He wipes away my tears when he can, but sometimes he needs someone to wipe away his tears. And, he certainly doesn’t always have the right thing to say. Now I realize that this is because he is human. Not an artificial cartoon character created by someone’s imagination. Ryan was created by God, and God put him in my life for a reason. I’ve come to appreciate the fact that sometimes Ryan’s silent presence is all I need to feel secure. I’ll leave the part of saving my life up to God.
And as for trying to train my husband like a puppy. Well, we all know that if you marry someone with the intention to change him or her – you are in big trouble. I’ve learned over the last year and half that we need to learn to compromise. I can’t train Ryan like a puppy dog… but, now that I think about it, there are definitely rewards that I can offer that will encourage him to do things for me… but that’s not the point. The point is that when I married my husband, I married him for who he is – and not who I can change him to be. Any changes that we make for each other are simply acts of love and simply a bonus in our married life together.
I wish I had known my husband was human right from the very beginning, instead of burdening him with all of my high expectations. I’m still occasionally guilty of expecting too much from him – but God is teaching us everyday about each other, and I still truly love every moment of it. ©
The river has gone down really fast in the last week, leaving in it's wake a vast area of dead, fishy smelling rot. Compare this pic to the one taken July 5.
We just had a really nice weekend. On Friday evening we went out for supper with our friends James and Sherisse, and then the four of us went to the Bomber game. Not only was the evening perfect for sitting outside for the game, but the game itself was actually really good! It even resulted in the Bombers first win of the season. On Saturday Ryan and I spent a good portion of the day mowing. For the last few months we basically have just mowed what ever portion of the lawn is dry. However, this weekend we were actually able to mow the entire lawn without any detours. There were forecasted thundershowers, but they never came - so we even had time to weed-eat around the shrubs and trees. A pretty good accomplishment I think! I also got in a walk with Terrilee and Sherrilynn - friends since birth, it's always nice to spend time with those girls. Sunday was a very relaxing day for us. We went to church in the morning, had lunch in Morris with Ryan's parents, and then spent the rest of the afternoon napping, and cuddling. I love being married! Anyway, by the time supper rolled around we were too lazy to cook, so we ordered in Chinese. It was fantastic.
Lightning in the clouds.
Thunder clouds over Rosenort last night.
Panoramic view of the thunder clouds.
This is my favourite shot.
Reflections - what do you see in the clouds? My dad sees a baboon.
Did you know that you can post your own photos online to be used on Jones Soda bottles? It's kinda cool! I've posted a couple of my own - and you can go online and vote on the photos. If you type in "heather" in the search engine you can narrow it down to find my photos. Enjoy!
It's quiet and slow at work today, so I thought I would check out some blogs. I started off at a blog I check frequently... the artwork of my niece Emily... and then just kept clicking the "Next Blog" button until I came upon something I liked. I'm not as eloquent a writer as some of those I found today, but was inspired none-the-less to write a little bit about what I've been personally thinking about in the last while.
To start, I have been thinking about how awful a condition Arthritis is. Now that I've been feeling the same symptoms as those with Arthritis due to my Parvovirus, I feel compelled to look into helping fund research to cure it. It is a terrible feeling. When it's cold outside, my knees, ankles and wrists ache. When it's hot and humid outside, it's agony. And to think that there are those who deal with this for their entire lives... I'm praying for a cure for you. Someday, there will be a cure! If you are interested in helping find a cure for Arthritis too, you can start by helping sponsor my cousin Lindsay as she "Runs for the Cure".
There may be more like this to come, but for now, I'm signing off.
To start, I have been thinking about how awful a condition Arthritis is. Now that I've been feeling the same symptoms as those with Arthritis due to my Parvovirus, I feel compelled to look into helping fund research to cure it. It is a terrible feeling. When it's cold outside, my knees, ankles and wrists ache. When it's hot and humid outside, it's agony. And to think that there are those who deal with this for their entire lives... I'm praying for a cure for you. Someday, there will be a cure! If you are interested in helping find a cure for Arthritis too, you can start by helping sponsor my cousin Lindsay as she "Runs for the Cure".
There may be more like this to come, but for now, I'm signing off.
This is the sad state of our BBQ after an "incident" this weekend. This BBQ was given to me by my grandma when I moved into my apartment four years ago. It wasn't new, but it's always been in good shape - and has served us well. This summer, however, the burner seemed to have rusted through, and was burning our food. So Ryan decided to replace it. He measured everything, and took every precaution to ensure that the new burner was the right thing. He put it in on Friday, and when I got home from work at 5:00 he told me that he had turned it onto the low setting, and that I should let it burn for a half hour before using it. I totally ignored it until 5:30, and then went out to throw some weiners on the grill. To my dismay, there were flames shooting up the side of the BBQ from behind the control panel. I was freaked out, and Ryan wasn't around, but I had to shut it off. Anyone watching this would have found the scene quite hilarious. It was way to hot to try and turn it off with my bare hands, so I ran inside and put on the oven mits. I made my way back out the BBQ, and while hunched down close to the ground, and staying as close to the back door as possible, I reach out to turn off the burners. I turn one side off successfully, but as I reached for the second knob the entire control panel fell off the front of the BBQ! The metal that held the screws in place had totally melted! I was able to turn it off anyway, and then turn off the propane tank. This picture shows what was left! We are going to send the pictures to the company, and see what they have to say about it.
I took this shot today. I just thought it looked so cool the way the water droplets formed on the petals of this flower. They are so perfectly spaced out. Very cool.
My braggin' billboard at work. I can't seem to post pictures using Hello anymore. Kind of ticks me off, because I liked the way that was working. Oh well...
Today's FreePress. Pics on the front page are taken near St. Jean. Bottom picture is the 75 Hwy. south of St. Jean.
The flooded river - facing North on the bridge. It's hard to get a grasp of the depth of the water, because the diversion has really equalized the flooding.
The river - facing South from the bridge.
Pretty in pink.
