When I hear the word expectation the first thing that comes to mind was our first year of marriage.
One of the best examples of our differences and expectations is getting up in the morning. I tend to rise early in the morning and once I’m up, I’m awake. Chris says I’m perky and very talkative. On the other hand, morning is not Chris’ favorite time of day. He wakes up more slowly and is quiet.
My expectation was that when Chris got up he would want to talk and be engaging. From my past experiences, I thought that when someone was quiet and silent that they were angry.
As you can imagine, I interpreted Chris’ quiet wake up time as anger at me. I didn’t have a clue as to what he was angry about, but I couldn’t understand why he was so quiet. Chris assured me that he wasn’t angry that he was just waking up differently than I do. Even though he explained it, I don’t think I quite understood that until later.
These days we both have our routines. I still get up early and do many things and find myself talking to our kitties and birds. Chris gets up a little bit later and wakes up more slowly.
Once I was able to let go of my expectation and stop coloring and interpreting Chris based on past experiences, I was able to let Chris be himself.
A day late…but I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to participate in The GypsyMama’s Five Minute Friday. Head on over and give it a try and be sure to read the writings of many gifted individuals while you are there.
3 comments:
You and I are very much alike, Suz! I am a morning person....up and at'em at the crack of dawn. Hubby is like yours...quiet, DO NOT DISTURB, at least for half an hour. Then slow, slow, slow....for another half hour!
Our expectations and past experiences can paint the wrong picture for us. Far too often mine does.
Ah, the personalities God throws together! I can just see you and your hubby in the morning : ) There are six in our house, all with different 'wake up' styles, some depending on the day! Great 5 minutes, Susan. Blessings!
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