Love is Nurturing

Each one of us needs nurturing to both our body and soul.  For some of that nurturing we depend on other people in the way of practical help, affection, or simply reassuring words.  Some things simply feed our souls, music, laughter, the sound of a loved-one’s voice.  Some nurturing we do for ourselves: taking care that our body gets the rest, exercise and nutrition it needs, or nurturing our soul through activities we enjoy, study, developing our talents.  Sometimes we need the support of others to nurture ourselves.  This is where our spouse can play an important role in our well-being.  That is, if he respects our need to nurture ourselves and understands what we do that is nurturing.   I know of a wife who read that doing crossword puzzles would help her brain stay healthy and active.  She was all for that, so started doing the daily crossword from the newspaper, keeping it handy for down time waiting for water to boil, the oven to heat, etc.  Even her children enjoyed doing them with her.  Then one day her husband accused her of neglecting the children by sitting in her chair doing the crossword.  She thought it would help to explain why she did it, that she spent only a few minutes at a time, here and there, that usually the children were off doing their homework or were with her enjoying the puzzles, too.  Although she explained things well, his response was, “Well I don’t like it and I want it to stop!”  So she stopped. Sadly, that was one of the very few things she did to nurture herself.  Although we may not understand or share the ways our loved-ones choose to nurture themselves, it is a very nurturing thing to support them, for we reap the benefits of a spouse and children who are healthy, both body and soul.