Site Meter Marital Talk » Blog Archive » Avoiding Strife…

Avoiding Strife…

by

toilet-paper.jpg

Toilet paper roll on backwards, toothpaste squeezed from the middle, socks on the floor, dishes in the cupboards but in all the wrong places, sheets not on the bed right, so many things to fight over, yet so little time to fight. Do these things provoke arguments in your marriage?
Are they worth having strife over, and being angry about? Is it so important to you that all of these things are done your way, that you insist on proving you are right, and any way not your own is wrong?
Dan and I used to have an ongoing argument, competition, fight….call it what you will. It had to do with how the toilet paper roll is hung. I insited the right way was for the paper to go over the top, and he said it had to come from underneath.
We fought about this so much, we even asked others for their opinions.
Every opportunity, I would change it to my way, and the next thing I knew- he would have it changed back to his way (the wrong way!!!).
I finally decided that, even though I think my way is better, it wasn’t worth having srife or stress over. Who the heck cares, as long as there is toilet paper?
I have even gotten to the point of, if he does dishes, and they end up in the wrong place- so what??!! At least he is doing the dishes!
Having a happy marriage means that sometimes I have to let his way be, even if I think my way is better. In the end, it doesn’t really matter if the cups are on the middle shelf, and the glasses are on the bottom shelf. What matters is that I didn’t have to wash the dishes. It doesn’t matter if the toilet paper comes from under the roll, he remembered to put a new roll on- and that is what matters.
Just think of all the stress in our relationships we could avoid, if we would choose our battles wisely- fight for what really makes a difference, not for the petty, little, unimportant things. Agree to disagree, and that even though you may like your way better, it may not be the only right way.
Now, if I can only get Dan to see that sleeping in a cold room is really better….(nah!!!).

To read about forgiving your spouse, see “Forgivers“.

Did You Enjoy this Post? Subscribe to Marital Talk. It's Free!

Leave a Reply


About Marital Talk

Marriage is one job that has the ability to make us love it, hate it, adore it, and despise it all at the same time. Here at Marital Talk you will see discussion about marriage concerns, marriage joys, humor, Q&A, marriage and family, and of course romance and intimacy. Join in with comments or questions and discuss what's going on in your marriage.

Marital Talk Author(s)

Dating & Relationships Channel Posts

  • Friday Free-For-All - Health
    Hello and welcome to the Friday Free-for-All! Inspired by the Weekend Soiree over at Wifely Steps (and pretty much using her idea, to be honest, but you can go over there and play on her site as [...]
  • Love Question 39
    Hello everyone! It's that time again... This past week I have been feeling absolutely run down. I tried to ignore it, keep working, keep going out to get groceries and that sort of thing... [...]
  • I Cheat
    That's right, my friends. I just have to get it off my chest. I've been living the lie for too long. I cheat... at making the bed. Shocking, isn't it? I've come to the conclusion that it is [...]
  • Geeky Marriage Proposals
    Not everyone dreams of the perfect, romantic wedding proposal. While most women think long and hard about the way they’d like to be asked to marry the man of their dreams, men are often left [...]
  • Head Cold Brain
    As if to further prove to myself that I'm still at that level ill 'stuffy brain' where you aren't thinking clearly, for a while, the title of this post was "Head Cold Braing". I'm not sure what a [...]
  • Chicken Soup for the Soul: True Love Story Call Out
    Chicken Soup for the Soul: True Love 101 Heartwarming and Humorous Stories about Dating, Romance, Love and Marriage Everyone loves a good love story. And we all love stories about how the love [...]
  • Words on the Australian Bushfires by Mr. JM
    My husband is joining us today to share a few words. When disaster comes, it can be difficult to identify with the people directly affected unless perhaps one has been through similar [...]
  • Friday Free-for-All - Art
    Hello and welcome to the Friday Free-for-All! Inspired by the Weekend Soiree over at Wifely Steps (and pretty much using her idea, to be honest, but you can go over there and play on her site as [...]
  • Love Question 38
    Hello everyone! It's that time again... This past week has been 'interesting', that's for sure. At the beginning of the month, we booked for a lovely Valentine's Day package with some new [...]
  • Life After Disaster
    By Mr. JM Today we head out into the fire-ravaged countryside around Melbourne. For those who don’t know, Victoria, Australia, has been hit by the worst fires ever in our history. Almost 200 [...]

Hot Off The Press