Every
marriage is based in teamwork – we chose our partner to team up with in
life. Like most marriages, we have had
times when we pull together in the same direction and times when we are
fighting against each other. Over the
years, we have found
Painting the
exterior of our arts & crafts bungalow with all its trim work, was a huge
task. I (Mel) am a meticulous, patient
painter and am unphased by the extra time and effort to do the fine brush work. However, Mark can be impatient and wants to see
quick progress. Aware of our opposite
character traits and gifts, we decided to work together to get the house
painted. Mark would paint the large
portions of wood siding with a large brush, and I would work on the trim and
special features with a small brush. Considering
our individual gifts helped make a perfect team.
I (Mark)
tend to make plans in my head and don’t always share them with Mel. On a typical Saturday I would wake up and
immediately formulate plans in my head for Mel and me to balance the checkbook,
go grocery shopping and get the laundry done.
Mel had different ideas of a quick clean up of the kitchen, followed by
a relaxing walk and maybe some leisure by the fireplace. When we didn’t share our differing ideas, we
both ended up frustrated as we were trying to get each other headed in the
direction we had planned. Now, on a
typical Saturday together, we talk about our individual expectations for the day. As a team, we agree together what we will do
and help each other to accomplish our tasks for the day.
Great post! And love the starter list. Thanks!
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