Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Grrr! (01/28/10)
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TITLE: The Soul Mate | Previous Challenge Entry
By Suzanne R
02/03/10 -
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Not easy somedays.
“Just pick the towel up off the floor,” I tell her. “It really isn’t that hard. And while you’re at it, wipe down the bathroom sink.” IF she starts, next thing I know, she’s scrubbing even the enamel off the bath. She just needs to get started but usually doesn’t. Crazy girl.
At work she’s okay because people are watching her. She performs well for show, but when at home with the one who knows her best, she just blobs about. Dinner? Surely cornflakes will do? Corn, yoghurt, a bit of banana … that about covers over half the food groups. I want to wring her neck and forcibly drag her to the shops to buy something fresh and healthy, then home again to put together a tasty meal. She knows she’ll feel better for a balanced diet, but do you think she’ll listen?
Exercise is another issue. How hard is it to go for a walk, I ask? One foot in front of another – that’s all it takes. Do that several times a week for half an hour or so and you’ll look better, feel better and have more energy. But no, it is all too hard. Hard? What’s so hard about walking? Even toddlers can walk.
Come bedtime, do you think she’ll move? It’s almost like the more she needs to rest, the less able she is to embark on her bedtime routine and get there. Yes, it does take significantly more energy to get herself to bed than it does to press a button on the TV remote, but surely you’ve got to get to bed eventually. Mad. Just insane.
In the mornings, she is like a bear with a sore head, emerging from her brief hibernation only to whack the snooze button of the alarm clock every seven minutes. Finally, at the last possible moment, she slides out of bed, into her clothes, pulls a comb through her hair and staggers out the door. She knows how important it is to start the day with prayer and reading God’s Word, but some days, that extra bit of sleep is just too appealing. Smart? No. And she knows it. Even when she does pray, her mind wanders around the world before getting back to the point, and too often her prayers just fizzle out without even being properly finished.
She drives me mad, my soul mate. Sometimes I have success in getting her into line, and she is invariably extremely pleased with herself when I get my way. So why doesn’t she listen to me more? Why is she so horribly blatantly stubborn?
What can I do with her? I’d like to move out some days and just leave her to suffer the consequences of her laziness. It would serve her right. But I’m stuck with her for life. No escape. Really, all I can do with her is to tackle each little issue as it arises, day by day, night by night.
Get up, girl. Now. Stay up. On your feet. MOVE. One step, two steps….. Wash that face. Clean those teeth. Focus. Breakfast and Bible. Pray. Dear God…… Woops – prayers derailed by that phone call. Now thinking about the day instead. Train of thought, back on the rails. Okay. Finish up. ‘… in Jesus’ name, Amen.’ Now out that door.
Dinner time. Vegetables. No, just toast is not okay. Even frozen vegetables will do. Cook. Eat. No, you can not leave the dishes for tomorrow. One step into the kitchen. Two steps. Rinse. Stack. Wash. Tomorrow you can put them away.
Half an hour of television only. No, not that choice. Bad move. Choose again. Okay. Time’s up. Press ‘off’. Finger up. No, not ‘channel’ button. ‘Power off.’
Shower. Teeth. Bed. One step, two steps, turn back the sheets. Evening prayers.
“Dear God, thank you for your help today in applying what I learned this morning about living the disciplined life to which we are called as children of God according to 2 Timothy 2. Please forgive me for the excess chocolate I consumed this afternoon. Work stress is not an acceptable excuse. I should have turned to you. Thank you for your presence. Help me now to rest well and to meditate on you in these closing moments of the day. Thank you.”
I switch out the light and spread out over the whole bed. We’ve done okay today, me and my soul-mate.
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Is this fiction or are you writing from...living it?
If living it, you left me asking if your wife is getting any help for depression?