Lessons Learned...so far!

The reality that Mr. Jordan and I work in the same relatively small office, live in the same relatively small condo (which are a mile apart) means that we get to spend A LOT of time together. Don’t get me wrong I absolutely love my husband. He is my very best friend and I would rather hang out with him than anyone else in this world BUT all this togetherness has definitely taught us a few things:

1. There is a huge difference between time spent together and quality time spent together.

2. Picking our battles is a must.

3. Taking time for ourselves is actually healthy.

Quality Time

Perhaps my favorite lesson is time spent together vs. quality time spent together. When we are together at work or at home there is always some distraction whether it’s work, people or the television (especially during baseball season) which makes it really hard to connect emotionally...as a woman I’ve realized I definitely need this. We’ve instituted date nights to take the time to connect. It doesn’t happen every week because of life but definitely happens when we need it.

Last night we tried a new restaurant Davanti Enoteca in Littly Italy. There was a 2 hour wait so we went to the Vintage Lounge down the street and had a Martini while we waited for our table. I loved this date! We talked and shared great food and really connected. It seems that every time we have a date night like this we learn something new about one another. I hope that we can forever learn something new about and from one another!

Picking our battles

While taking a Marriage and Family psychology course in college, I had an assignment to interview a couple that had been married a long time. I chose my parents, who have now been married for 33 years. I interviewed both of them individually and both of them talked about the importance of picking your battles and realizing that you can’t win every fight...nor should you want to.

Mr. Jordan and I have similar personalities in that we both can be a little stubborn and a TAD opinionated (notice that’s actually a big tad). Thankfully, we both share the mantra of picking our battles. When we disagree on something I try to ask myself, "Is this really worth arguing about?" If the answer is "no" than I try to let it go and if the answer is "yes" then I tell Mr. Jordan how important this is to me and ask if this is really important to him. This doesn’t always work, we are human after all but it does work most of the time. By the way, this is what happens when two social workers fall in loveJ

Taking time for ourselves

When we first started dating, we pretty much did everything together, which was great because we got to know each other on a really deep level. Now that we are married I have learned how important it is for: Mr. Jordan to spend time with his guy friends; Me to spend time with my girlfriends; and both of us to spend time alone. I felt really guilty about this one at first because I felt like I shouldn’t want to take time for myself but I’ve realized that this is actually really healthy for our marriage. This can be difficult sometimes but I try to plan weekends with my girlfriends and time away just working out or blogging when Mr. Jordan is hanging with the guys, like tonightJ

Sometimes Mr. Jordan gets the best of both worlds...date night at a Cubs game.

Perhaps my favorite date was the 3 weeks we recently spent in Spain and Italy.

A peaceful and refreshing season

Ever since I can remember I have had a hard time focusing on the here and now. I’m always getting ready for the next trip or the next event. I think graduating college was a real shock to my on-the-go system. Starting a new job and moving to Chicago was fun and exciting and meeting and marrying my best friend was exciting. But it's the in between times that I struggle the most…when life is neither exciting nor difficult.

For this reason one of my favorite verses is Psalm 23:

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Through the highs and lows of life it seems that this is where I am always led back to...what feels sometimes like the mundane but is actually where everything feels peaceful and right. I am working on savoring these moments...the here and now and thinking less of what's to come.

I just returned from a cruise with my parents, older sister and nephews. I was reminded on this trip how truly blessed I am to have such a loving and supportive husband as well as family (both new and old) and reminded of how quickly time passes. My oldest nephew is now 6 and it seems like only yesterday I was holding him for the first time. He's growing up and only interested in cuddles when he first wakes up and he's too groggy to push you away. But it's the moments when he tells you he loves you and holds your hand (more because he thinks you need it…which is probably true) that I savor.

The 6 year old & the 2 year old

So in this calm and peaceful season I am going to be thankful for what I have and focus on what's important: my husband, my family, my friends and most importantly the One that brings me to these peaceful seasons to refresh my soul.

Hope everyone has a peaceful and refreshing Easter!!

Chicago Cubs Opening Day

It was opening day here at the Jordan household! My wonderful husband is a bit of a baseball fan. He spends a lot of time on the Chicago Cubs website (year around) giving me updates on the team. I try very hard to stay interested even in the dead of winter when it feels like we may never see a baseball field under all the Chicago snow. Thankfully we’ve made it to spring and can actually enjoy baseball on television…almost every single day of the week!

Every year on opening day Mr. Jordan hosts an opening day party for the boys. Mr. Jordan has been preparing since he got home from work on Thursday…picked up a pork shoulder for pulled pork sandwiches, beer and guacamole ingredients. I was responsible for picking up the tortilla chips and accidentally bought baked chips...oops! I have been trying to stretch our food budget by focusing more on price than on labels which is not turning out well for us.

This year a cute little one-year-old named Grace was invited. It will be fun to see what this “boys” party turns into in the future. I have a feeling that Grace will have some little friends to play with next year.

Unfortunately the cubs lost todayL but at least the guys had a good time. Well the mess I came home to definitely suggest they had a good time, which they of course blamed on cute little Grace. Mr. Jordan is going to have a lot of cleaning up to do tomorrowJ

Hoping the Chicago Cubs finish strong this season!!

Mr. Jordan's secret ingredient is chopped red peppers...yum!!