Cinco

I can't remember if I said why exactly I am doing this blog (and right now I am too lazy to go see if I already did or not), so if not then you will know why, and if so, you will get to hear it again. I am in a class called Family Relations, and we are required to have a blog where once a week we blog about something that we learned in class or that we thought was interesting/insightful/etc. In this class we talk about, you guessed it, family relations and how families can influence each other and effect each other. 

This week we were talking about transitions in marriage. Something that stuck out to me and that I have been thinking a lot about is that most people spend more time preparing and planning their wedding than they do planning and working towards their marriage. I think that it is so important to prepare, plan, and work for your marriage. Marriage isn't this magical thing that automatically works out after you have a wedding and say "I do", it is something that takes work, time, and effort. Without working at your marriage and strengthening your relationship with your spouse, your marriage will not be as strong as it could be, and there is a very good chance that your marriage will end (and we as Latter-Day Saints believe and know that marriage can (and should) last for eternity and not just until "death do you part").

Quatro

In class this week, we have been talking about dating, love, marriage, and all that jazz. At the beginning of the week I thought, "well, I'm already married, so I don't really need to pay attention in class or do any of the readings." Wrong-O! As I listened in class and did some of the readings, I have been able to better appreciate what my wife and I have and I have found things that I can do better to strengthen our relationship (because it's not like you say "I do" and then you're set for life, marriage is something that you have to work at).

Something that I thought was interesting when talking about love was the 4 different kinds of love: Storge, Philia, Eros, and Agape. I had never heard of these kinds of live, but I knew they existed (if that makes any sense). I think it is important in a relationship (especially with your significant other) that all 4 of these types of love exist and I think that if you don't have and work at these 4 types of love with your spouse, your marriage will not live up to its potential.

Tres

Hey everyone. So something that I have been thinking a lot about is culture. We have talked about cultures in class for the last few classes and also how gender can effect family culture. Something that I have been thinking about is how my family culture differs/will differ from my older sister's family culture. We were both raised in the same family and were taught and raised the same (obviously there were small differences, but for the most part we were raised the same), we also have both been married for a little over 2 years.  Growing up, my sister was the girly girl of the family. She never liked getting dirty or doing things outside, she didn't like playing any sports, and always wanted to look nice/pretty. I loved (and still love) sports. I played basketball, football, and baseball in junior high and high school. I wasn't really in to guns or motorbikes, but I did like hanging out with my guy friend and camping or watching action movies. I would consider myself a sport guy. Our spouses are very different from each other. My wife is a girly girl who loves fashion, shopping, making crafts, looking good, and making things look good. My brother in law is a manly man. He loves riding his dirt bike, snowmobiling, paint balling, doing any extreme sports, and pretty much anything outside. Since we have been married, I have become a little less of a "manly man" and become more sensitive (I still love sports and action movies, but I don't do those kinds of things as much because I know that my wife doesn't enjoy them). Instead of going to watch a basketball game or going to throw a frisbee around, we will go to a play or a classical music concert. Or instead of going on a hike, we will go walk around the mall. My sister on the other hand has become a little bit more likely to go for a ride on the quads or go for a hike (things that she never would have done before she was married). It is interesting for me to see these changes in myself and my sister and to wonder what our family culture will be like when we have kids, and how our children will interact with each other. Neither of us are pregnant, so I will have to wait to see how these interactions will happen, but I am curious and excited to find out.