Category: Marriage

Written by Alise

He’s My Partner

When we’re young, labeling relationships is easy. This person is my friend, this person is my best friend, this person is my BEST best friend. When it’s a romantic relationship, it’s the same. You can be dating or going out. Someone is your boyfriend or girlfriend. When you’re young, finding a handy title for the […]

Written by Alise

Fresh, Not Frozen

When the dark days came the first time, I stopped cooking. I was nearly 30, I had four very young children, and a husband who was battling demons that nearly took him out of the picture entirely. Chicken casserole gave way to frozen chicken nuggets. Spaghetti dinners turned into SpaghettiOs. The Chinese delivery person predicted […]

Written by Alise

Your Marriage Doesn’t Have To Be Hard Work

For years I scoffed when people would talk about how much work marriage was. Marriage wasn’t hard work. People who considered their marriages hard work clearly were dealing with something defective. And I was right. My marriage wasn’t hard work. It’s not hard work to tolerate your spouse’s dreams. It’s not hard work to sit […]

Written by Alise

The Black Dress

I wore black to my second wedding. I wasn’t trying to make some kind of statement that I was damaged goods because I was getting married a second time after a divorce. I had been looking at maternity wedding dresses on ebay, but buying a dress to wear one time seemed like an extravagance we could ill […]

Written by Alise

Unpacking

Over the years, The Incredibles has become one of my favorite Pixar movies. I love the way the family relates to one another and the ways that their super-powers speak to the people they are in their regular life. But there is one scene early in the movie that is just completely unbelievable to me. […]