Teamwork

The word of the day is teamwork. When we got married, we agreed that we would always be a team. Through the adjustments of a new marriage, Steve often reminded me that he was on my team and the tension would dissipate. Like all successful teams, we’ve learned to identify and utilize our individual strengths to accomplish goals. Sounds romantic, huh? (laugh) Maybe not to some, but for us, there is nothing that feels more loving than having knowing we are working for and not against one another. Today is a good example of that and I wanted to share.

We are making another trip to Mayo today for blood work, a check up, and to pick up meds. Nothing emotional or nerve-racking, just the beginning of a new routine. Neither of us felt like checking into a hotel and then packing up to come home in the morning so we’re making this a one-day trip. We were not looking forward to this very long day (3 hours up, four hours there, 3 hours back), but it seemed easier than the alternative. The drive seemed doable to me, the appointments seemed daunting. Steve had mentioned that the drive may be too much and this got me thinking about teamwork.

I suggested that I do all the driving and when we get to Mayo, I sit in a coffee shop while he goes to appointments…then, we meet up and I drive back home. This will give him the opportunity to sleep in the car and give me the opportunity to relax a bit before driving back. Ideal, huh? Well, only if we abandon pride, guilt, expectation, and focus on working as a team…which is my point. If we each tried to do everything, both of us would be overwhelmed and, if you’re anything like us, that does NOT make for an enjoyable car ride. However, if we both admit that we feel unable to do it all, we can work together to complete this task while both maintaining some sense of sanity.

That’s what I wanted to share. A real-life example of how teamwork in a marriage can function…at least for us. The key is letting go of the pride of having to do it all, the guilt of not being able to do it all, and the expectation that we SHOULD be able to do it all, and just work together as a loving team. This doesn’t apply just to marriage, but to friendship, families, offices, churches, etc. Put love and function above pride and see what happens. We’re not perfect, but we have figured out that teamwork is one of the keys to a happy marriage and I thought that was worth sharing. (smile)

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