With the marriage of our oldest son on the near horizon, I'm thinking a lot about family. This boy of ours is linking us with this lovely girl. Husband and wife can be best friends and partners in something grand.
"The relationship between husband and wife is the linchpin in the whole family relationship. I am sorry that I have come so late to a fuller appreciation of the extent of the needs of our wives and womenfolk for love, appreciation, companionship, and recognition. These needs are great, they are constant, and they need to be frequently met. Kindness and courtesy do not begin in the professional office—they begin at home. I am also sorry that I have not sooner appreciated the great sublime, unique gifts which our wives inherit from divinity. I speak of their womanly intuitions and their steadfast faith and capacity to love. Properly nurtured, the eternal relationship of a husband and wife flowers into a love of consummate beauty." James E Faust, Ensign, July 1981
His advice can go the other way with a little imagination.
If children arrive, they are brought under this umbrella. Although I failed miserably, I loved being a mommy. Children are not an annoyance but little people in need of help to gain their full potential. That potential won't be reached by beating goodness and manners into them but with gentle, charitable guidance and persuasion.
"Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward." Psalms 127:3
Even though I loved being a mommy the very most, grandmotherhood is interesting, too. I feel a great responsibility to do the utmost my station will allow in helping these little people put in my path. Hopefully, they will know that I love and care about them despite the fact that I don't live nearby them.
