Rant and rave

Let's start with the raving first :-). Here's my husband loving on our youngest. Is there anything better than the love of a father for his children?

And then here's my youngest loving on her sister. How the two of them reclined comfortably in this cheap-o folding chair is beyond me, but they were there for several minutes.

And the rant? My husband told me he spoke to his mother. She wants me to make the mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner at her house. And, since she has the whole meal planned out according to some menu she got from somewhere (probably Bon Appetite or Gourmet), she will be providing me with the RECIPE to follow when making said mashed potatoes.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? is my gut reaction. You have the audacity to tell me what I am bringing, and then you are going to tell me how to make it too?

Not very nice, huh (my reaction, not her request)? Why is it so hard for me to just be good with her request? Why do I "kick against the goads" so much when it come to all things related to my m-i-l? But actually it is just a mental "kicking". In the end, I will do exactly what she wants because it will make her happy and preserve the peace, and it is not harmful for me to do it. And it's probably what Jesus would do...or at least what He would encourage any lady of the Bible to do, since I doubt He ever made mashed potatoes. He did turn water into wine for ill-prepared wedding throwers though. And He also fed the masses with loaves and fishes after spending all day teaching them. So the least I can do is make some mashed potatoes (even using some yet-to-be-produced recipe) because in the end it is about loving my husband (and by default his family), with whom I have a covenant vow of one-ness. with an agape, self-sacrificing love. I'm blessed I have a husband, many women don't. While we don't always bring out the best in each other, he does, just by his existence, drive me to be better...a better housekeeper, mother, and help-meet just to name a few things. God uses him, and our covenant of marriage to work on ME and that is priceless even if it is sometimes hard to swallow.
until tomorrow,
obm