Podcast: https://bit.ly/3UQYXaD
A few weeks ago my dear wife ended up at the doctor with some issues. Among other things, they did standard blood tests. And then told her she was dehydrated. She’d actually been working to drink enough but miscalculated and was shorting herself. I decided to check my intake. I used to drink two gallons a day when I worked in the heat in Texas and continued to drink a lot after. But when I did the math, I found I was borderline now.
This is actually common. As we age, our “thirst reflex” stops working as it should. Additionally, the kidneys become less able to concentrate urine, meaning your body is less able to retain water when it’s not getting enough. So our bodies fail to tell us what we need, and if we don’t pay attention, we become dehydrated and get all the problems that come with that.
And what, you’re thinking, does this have to do with Doing Marriage Well?
We tend to assume we are aware of what we need. But just as our bodies may fail to tell us we need water, our minds may fail to tell us we need things required for our mental and emotional health. Or for the health of our marriage. We are even more likely to fail to be aware of what our spouse needs to feel loved, connected, and healthy.
Early on most couples are so head over heels in love they give more than what is needed without even trying. As time goes on and that early love fades, we do less, unless we are intentional. At the same time we get busy with work, children, and all the rest. We let things slide. We justify not only doing less for our spouse but also getting less from our spouse.
We start hurting because we’re not getting what we need in our marriage, but we may not know why we’re feeling as we are. Unfortunately there is no lab test to tell us we need more snuggle, conversation, or whatever.
The rest of the week I will look at things couples may need more of, but don’t know they need more. For today, I want you to think about this. Have you lost your natural thirst for something you need with your spouse? Are you lacking something but not really feeling it? What about your spouse? Are they okay with less of something than they need from you?
~ This is Paul, and Doing Marriage Well is easier when you know what you need.
A note on water intake: Healthy men living in normal circumstances need 15.5 cups (3.7 litres) of fluid a day. For women it’s 11.5 cups (2.7 litres). Normally about 20% of this intake comes from food, leaving a daily beverage goal of roughly 13 cups (3 L) for men and 9 cups (2.1 L) for women. For more, see Water: How much should you drink every day?
Made some strawberry freezer jam!
Last year we canned it and didn’t like it as much. This is better and easier to make.
But we do have to make room in the freezer.
Image Credit: © Paul H Byerly created with Nano Banana 2
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