Elmer’s Glue

The junk drawer is filled with many odds and ends, like miscellaneous adapters, tape, nails, cereal box toys and a small bottle of Elmer’s glue. Last night, while talking to my husband, I realized the turning around of my life and marriage could learn a thing or two from Elmer’s Glue.

When you glue something using Elmer’s glue, you have to be careful with what is being glued until the glue dries completely. If you try to move it too quickly, the glue doesn’t have a chance to hold itself in place. You need to be patient and let the glue work; you need to allow enough time for it to stick.

Well, the same holds true with change and with expectations. I want my marriage to change. I want my marriage to work. However, we’ve been in a dysfunctional state for so many years, I can’t expect the change to occur instantly. Though I feel better and better each day about myself and the world around me, I shouldn’t get ahead of myself and try moving things around before the glue has a chance to work.

As I have said in a previous post or two, sometimes my mind gets manic. Various thoughts pop in and out of  my head, and I often want to act on the thoughts instantly. I want to act on it before it has a chance to stick.

I feel good. I’m ready to move forward. So, let’s move forward already. Oh wait. I see the glue in the junk drawer. If I move forward too quickly before the glue dries, I might slip and endanger the progress that has been made.

Yes. Last night, while talking to my husband, I realized I may be expecting too much too soon. We’ve been in a dysfunctional state for about 5yrs. And, we’ve had moments in those 5yrs where we thought things were turning around for us, only to find things got worse. If one doesn’t learn from mistakes, s/he risks making the mistakes over and over again. Thanks to the glue I found in the junk drawer, I am reminded that things need time to stick before you can move to the next step.

My husband and I have recently put the glue down on our relationship. Rather than getting caught up with what I think we should be doing NOW, since the glue was laid, I need to sit back and wait. I need to be patient. I need to let the glue dry. And,  perhaps I can start prepping for the next step without actually taking the next step.

I wonder what else I find in the junk drawer.