It’s been a tough week at the Megan and Nate household. Nate has been on call all week, getting pages at all hours, and only getting 2-3 hours of sleep each night. I STILL haven’t been feeling good, and I’ve been trying to deal with that on top of my normal day to day schedule. Needless to say, we’ve both been crabby and tired for the last several days.

Despite this, we have still made time for each other to help out and be there when we need to be. There have been some days where I have felt crappier than other days, and Nate has stepped up and made dinner and cleaned up afterwards so that I could chillax for a bit.

Monday night, I was even driven to tears because my stomach was hurting so bad. Nate dropped what he was doing and held me until the pain subsided enough that I was able to go to sleep. He was even ready to drive me to the hospital if I needed it. Even though I felt like crap, I felt very blessed to have him by my side and taking care of me. I can’t describe how much it meant to me to have someone keeping an eye on me and making sure I was okay.

Likewise, on the day where Nate got the least amount of sleep and had to be to work at 7:30 in the morning for training, I did for him what he had done for me. I cooked and cleaned up dinner and did everything that needed to be done so he could get some rest. Most days we tag team the chores, and even though neither one us enjoy doing all of them alone, we both know that sometimes the other person needs more time to rest than usual. We’ve gotten pretty good at recognizing this throughout the years, and it’s strengthened our relationship and helped turn us into the dynamic duo that we are today.

I believe all couples should feel that way in their relationship. That they can rely on the other to help them out when they need it, and it shouldn’t be seen as an inconvenience. If you are sick and dying, and need your partner to step up and do a little extra work around the house, then you better be willing to do the same for them. I’ve seen a lot of one-sided relationships fizzle out over time because one half of the relationship isn’t willing to put the work in. And if that’s the mind set you have entering into a relationship, then you might as well not even be in one, because believe it or not, relationships require work!

I may have painted a good picture in your heads about how well Nate and I work through things together, but it isn’t always like that. We have our disagreements, and argue about petty little things from time to time. I’m not always happy with him and I can guarantee he’s not always happy with me, but we learn and grow from these experiences and sometimes sacrifices have to be made on both sides.

It’s hard — and sometimes you want to smack the other person — but in the end, you find a way to work through those issues, because if you really love each other, then nothing can tear you apart. Nate and I drive each other crazy 75% of the time, but we love each other with everything we’ve got. We keep fighting through the bad times whenever they come along, because if you can’t make it through the bad times, there won’t be any good times — and the good times are what life is worth living for!

Here’s to hoping that Nate and I have some better luck next week, and that all you couples out there continue to fight for the ones you love! 🙂 All you single pringles go listen to Queen and find somebody to love (cheesy, but couldn’t resist).

Until next time! 🙂

Megan Reiffenberger