Joshua and I have been married for 12 years now. We have our habits and rituals and they work well, most of the time. Things like hello and good bye kisses, good night routines etc. But, we have children that occasionally like to give their opinion even when things are none of their business........... You know, 'kissing is gross' or 'you guys talk too much.' Most of the time it is innocent but recently it has begun to get ridiculous. Our 2 older children have been getting very dramatic if they see us kiss or hug. They will scrunch up their noses and whine, "EWWWW, that's gross! Stop kissing! We don't want to see that!" Some of the time I think they are just trying to be silly. Of course we have explained that we are married and it is perfectly fine for us to do it and we have approached it from a biblical stand point. They agree that it is all true in theory but in practice it is a little far fetched how married people act. So we have just kindly asked that they mind their own business and keep their comments to themselves. They are still working on that one..................... On the other hand we have a 4 year old who thinks that marriage is awesome and encourages the kissing and hugging in a very dramatic and demanding way. She will hear Joshua come in the door after work and run to him and demand, "Daddy, Daddy! Kiss Mommy! Kiss! KISS!" I am not sure what is going on in her head. Yesterday in the car, Eve, Jack and Abby were sitting in the backseat and there was a bit of commotion (go figure). When I asked them to calm down and try to get along Eve whined, "But Abby keeps trying to kiss us and she won't stop!" I turned around to address the issue and said, "Abigail, please stop trying to kiss everyone. I Know you love your brother and sister but one hug and kiss is enough!" Abby frowned and pouted, "But Mommy, I just want someone to be married to me!" She definitely has a big imagination and a 4 year old grasp of things. She is going to be a handful (blessing) and I think (know) I will need to keep my eye on her.....................................
Even though things can be frustrating at times I am glad that we have children who desire to be a part of our lives. And we get to use the everyday things as teaching opportunities and tools for learning especially when it comes to the sacredness of marriage and purity.
