Dang Mac Donalds.

We are reading Dr. Emerson Eggerichs book, Love and Respect, in our church small group. Some parts are focused towards men, some women, and some both. It can be a little over repetitive, and we may or may not joke and add 'because I love you' or 'because I respect you' at odd times because, well, it makes us laugh.

But, for real now, it has good points that seem obvious but can be pretty dang hard to remember when you're in the thick of things, when life is busy, when the kids suck all the energy out of you and the last thing you want to do is show someone love or respect after a long day.

As women, we need the reminder of how our men think, what speaks volumes to them, and how different their thought process can be.

And men, such is the same. The book uses the example of pink and blue glasses for men and women. That we see things in our specific colored glasses because we are different, as God made us, but we have to remember to take off our glasses and see situations and things from the others perspective.

McDonalds, right? That was the title anyways...

This may come as a shock to those that know me, but I can be stubborn. Please, take time to gasp now.

Call it the 'baby of the family' personality, or just call it stupidity, but I'm still working on improving in this category. I literally sometimes have to work myself through fits. And I'm 28 here. I have no good excuses like my toddler does--that only being that he's a toddler, because there's no good excuse for throwing fits when asked to go to the bathroom instead of pee your pants. None.

So, It had been a long weekend, a long Sunday, and we still had to go out to Wally World to get a few things before heading home to make dinner. (This all could have been avoided if we hadn't tried to cut corners earlier in the week. So, second lessoned learned there.) We made it a family affair and all went together. Shopping alone is lonesome, and I love being chauffeured.

During our quick trip I was like ummm, this would be easier if that McDonalds wasn't right out side with yummy fries. Just sayin'.

Nothing came of it. I'm pretty sure I dropped a later hint in the store, too, but nothing. Then, as we're leaving in the car I'm all-so what kind of breakfast for dinner do you want? And he's all-what are the options? And I say, well, there's Mcdonalds, French toast, I don't know....then, Caden's all-I have to pee!

What ends up happening is we're on the fence, probably because he can sense my baby fit brewing, and we decide to run him into McyD's to pee, and I say okay Caden we'll get you fries after you pee. What also ends up happening is my fries get shot down, but we get him some anyways because you can't tell him he gets fries, take him inside fry heaven to pee, then say jay kay and leave. Unless you want the hulk to come out, which we didn't.

So, he pee'd, he got fries, and we left. Son of a biscuit. Here's where I tell you my foolishness.

I then played the silence game. Maybe for a good thirty minutes to an hour, I'm sure. Did what I had to when we got home, and started making dumb breakfast food.

We try to have breakfast food on the 'menu' once a week because we find it's affordable for the budget if you keep it simple. It's also one of the most annoying meals to make because it gets lots of cookware dirty and you have to cook everything. No crockpot action, no one pan for all. It just annoys me sometimes. And you have to time it right so it's somewhat all hot when you're ready to eat it--which, is pointless with kids anyways, but whatever.

Ya'll. Gary apologized first. For what?! I think he noticed something he did made me mad, but come on--I'm the one acting like a fool just because I didn't like his answer! So I was a little more irritated that he took my apology and was thinking gah-dang it! I'm no ready to reply...I'm just not ready!

Eventually, I did. Multiple times. Because it felt so ridiculous of a matter it needed a few real apologies. And then, yesterday while reading my chapters in Love and Respect it touched base on how 'a marriage needs her intuition and his insight'. How it's so easy for us as women to disregard his insight. To not count it as important, because it may differ from ours. BAM. Right in the face.

Something as simple as a dinner choice. I didn't want to cook, I wanted something quick and easy that I didn't have to think twice about. I can't lay out his reasoning-but it saved us from feeling crappy from eating fast food, saved us the money that we could later elsewhere in the week, and well-even if it did nothing it was his decision and just because I had other opinions doesn't mean that's the way we have to go.

Five years and I'm just now being able to really focus and work on this. This is when you can add Gary to your prayer list.

Either way-I at least knew I had to work through my stubbornness, and I did. Quietly, unfortunately with an attitude, but because I knew that I needed to respect his decision even if it wasn't one I would have made.

And that is hard to do sometimes. Marriage is hard to do a lot of the time. But, it is worth it. Seeing and acknowledging area to grow in your marriage is important and worth the uphill battle.

I know we're guaranteed to have different opinions on things far more important than fries, so here is where I need to start to prepare my heart for those situations. Remember to try on his blue glasses and learn to work together. Luckily, God showed us grace, so we show each other grace and continue on.

And, luckily, I stole one of Caden's fries before handing them back to him. Hashtag hangry mom problems.