On our last trip up north, Fiance and I met with the priest to talk about our wedding. I’ve known my priest since I was born so I’m very comfortable with him, but the Big Guy has only met him a few times when he’s come to visit my family. So we all just wanted to get together and get to know each other and talk about what the dealio is.

This wasn’t a formal marriage class or counseling or anything like that, but Father Andrew did have us tell him what we like most about each other. That one was easy. And very sweet. I live for compliments.
But then he asked us what we like least about each other.
Neither of us had anything to say because we are both perfect people and never get annoyed at each other.

HAHAHAHA RIGHT OK.
Nah of course we both had something to say. Not nasty, not dismissive, just “yo this drives me bonkers.” Neither of us was surprised by what the other said, because we have both said “yo this drives me bonkers” to each other before.

Father Andrew then talked about how marriage is like a loaf of bread (I LOVE THE GREEKS EVERY METAPHOR IS FOOD RELATED). Some people like the crusty ends of the bread, some people like the soft middle, but with marriage you get the whole loaf. So it’s ok to not like certain parts of people. It doesn’t make either of you bad people or incompatible. As long as you love the loaf as a whole, you’re doing just fine.

I’ve been thinking about how this applies to horses (obviously, did you think this post was about my human relationship?!). Because lets be real here- Frankie is my glorious unicorn and I love him so so so much, but there are totally parts and pieces here and there that I don’t particularly like.

But even though those parts aren’t my favorite at times, I love that loaf like you wouldn’t believe. I couldn’t imagine a different loaf. He’s the exact correct loaf for me.
It means that when I’m frustrated because holy crap my left leg is about to fall off and you STILL WON’T MOVE OFF IT it’s ok. I can let that moment of frustration happen and move on. Just because we still have things to work on together doesn’t mean we have a bad partnership, it just means that we are both learning and growing together- and overall both really enjoying the process.

So tell me. What do you think of the loaf metaphor??
It’s really a perfect metaphor for a whole bunch of things: riding in general (love the loaf, hate waking up at 4am to show, hate falling off and not being able to walk cough), jobs/work (as long as we still love the loaf, you’re never going to love every piece), friendships, places to live (STOP SNOWING INDIANA)…
LikeLike
This is fantastic! Food metaphors work for pretty much everything. (I am Italian. We do the same thing.) Whether it’s horses or marriage (omg ESPECIALLY marriage) you gotta love the loaf, AND come to terms with the fact that you aren’t going to love every part of it. And that’s okay. And sometimes love doesn’t look like googly-heart-eyes. Sometimes it looks a lot like being kind even though your spouse is driving you ABSOLUTELY BONKERS and you want to hit him over the head with something.
LikeLike
Yes. Yes to all. I’m seriously warming to this metaphor for so many things!!
LikeLike
Great metaphor! I love Duke because he is an amazing wonderful horse and will try with his whole heart and bail me out of situations without getting upset. But I don’t like his ardent love of taking the long spot. It’s fixable and we’re getting to a point where he’s trusting me more and listening better, but there are still times when he goes, “I GOT THIS ONE HANG ON” and leaves a stride out.
LikeLike
There’s always that fine line to walk of WAIT UP AND LISTEN but still every once in a while CRAP PLS HELP haha
LikeLike
So, so true. Thankfully Duke is a saint and when I scream DUKERS TAKE THE WHEEL, he just kind of goes, OK I GOT THIS BUT MAYBE GRAB SOME MANE. Or so I imagine. He just wants to be a good boy so much. (And he is, obvs.)
LikeLike
Loaf metaphor = amazing. Love it. I’ll eat it. LOL
LikeLike
All metaphors should be food metaphors
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s a great metaphor. I mean, carbs are life after all, amiright?
LikeLike
Carbs are love, carbs are life ❤
LikeLike
Great metaphor for all things in life. Marriage is a lot like horse riding in a lot of ways. 90% of it is the boring mundane tasks: paying bills, grocery shopping, doing dishes and laundry aka working on bend, straightness, adjustability etc….The other -0% is the fun stuff: date nights, laughter, vacations, big dreams aka showing, jumping the next height etc… You gotta learn to love and put up with the mundane or you never make it to the fun
LikeLike
Yes! And it’s all those mundane non-glamorous things that give you the base to do the fun stuff.
LikeLike