Choosing Love Over Work

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do you ever plan to have that weekend when you are going to tackle a ton of things you’ve been meaning to get done? i’m talking to-do lists up the wazoo, your hours blocked out so you know exactly how much time is allotted to each task and then what reward you’ll receive once the tasks are completed?

let’s be real, i don’t have this type of planning often. i wore my shirt inside out all last wednesday so getting this organized and prepared takes extra work for me and it’s a rare species of behavior.

i told my husband my game plan for this past weekend so i’d be more likely to keep my goals. after a leisurely breakfast on saturday, i sat down to start chipping away at my list. we just scheduled a love day a few weeks ago so this weekend was going to be a head down and work weekend.

about seven minutes later my husband walked into our home office and said, “hey…i know you’re working but…hang out with me! do you want to take a walk or something?”

ryan and chelsea avery

i considered for a moment and then decided i needed to keep working on my list so i said maybe later.

about 20 minutes later i looked over at my husband, who was playing with our puppy, and realized whoa. if my husband is asking to hang out with him, that should trump work. 

so i popped up and said the day was his, because work can wait. it hit me that we work hard most other days, nothing i was working on had a super strict deadline and life is meant to be lived with the ones you love.

i realized that looking back in a few days or even a few years, i probably wouldn’t remember working that one weekend and that’s what changed everything. i probably would remember dancing around the living room to this song and cracking up as we both randomly attempted to river dance to it. have you seen this video? my sister sent it to me and it’s super cute and catchy. it’s also her birthday today so happy birthday sister and let’s go play in the low country again!

i realize that i won’t always be able to blow off work (we kind of have something huge on the horizon) and sometimes we have to keep our head down on projects instead of running around town hand in hand. however, when you have the choice, choose your relationship. choose to create memories, choose to spend your time in fun ways and choose love.

questions:
1) do you have a favorite song you like to dance to (with or without anyone watching)?
2) highlight of your weekend?
3) when’s the last time you laughed really hard at something?

24 Comments

  1. Audrey

    April 27, 2015 at 7:49 am

    Aww, I’m so glad you decided to have a fun day with your hubby! It sounds like you made a good choice! We’re currently driving back from our anniversary-weekend at Niagara Falls! Since my hubby had a limited data plan it was impossible to keep our noses buried in the phone answering calls and emails! (Yay!) Trips like these where we laugh at silly things or inside jokes, and spend all our time together just remind me over and over why we’re so compatible!
    Audrey recently posted…A Letter to My Children

    • chelsea

      April 27, 2015 at 5:31 pm

      ohhh happy anniversary weekend, audrey!!!! hope you’re crafting up a post on niagara falls because i’d love to read it! i’m so glad you’ve spend the weekend laughing and having fun, it does make you feel great to realize yet again how great you are together!

  2. Ryan Avery

    April 27, 2015 at 9:12 am

    You are the best wife a husband could ask for! I love you babe!
    Ryan Avery recently posted…How to Create An Elevator Pitch They’ll Remember

    • chelsea

      April 27, 2015 at 5:32 pm

      awww a blog post comment and everything boo! you da best and thanks for wanting to hang out with meeee. i of course, love you most.

  3. Rose

    April 27, 2015 at 10:29 am

    I just posed that Honey, I’m Good song on my Friday post the other week. So catchy!
    Rose recently posted…Fri-YAY! 4.24.15

    • chelsea

      April 27, 2015 at 5:32 pm

      ahhh it’s SO good! can’t wait to see what other things you posted since obviously it’s full of good things!

  4. Charlene Maugeri

    April 27, 2015 at 11:06 am

    That song was so cute! And you’re so right. Our relationship should come before anything and everything else! Thanks for the reminder! The highlight of my weekend was definitely powering through all the Marvel movies with the husband getting ready to see the new Avengers movie this weekend!
    Charlene Maugeri recently posted…How I’m Doing With My Word Of the Year

    • chelsea

      April 27, 2015 at 5:33 pm

      ohhh that sounds like a fun weekend full of movie watching, charlene! isn’t that song so catchy and i loved the video!

  5. Amberly

    April 27, 2015 at 3:40 pm

    I love that you got out and had fun with your husband!! 🙂

    • chelsea

      April 27, 2015 at 5:38 pm

      me toooo. i felt guilty at first but then realized that was serving no purpose so fully embraced it!

  6. Rachel G

    April 27, 2015 at 3:56 pm

    I’ll dance to all sorts of songs, what makes a difference if people are watching? Especially when “Call Me Maybe” comes on (and surprisingly, it still comes on in malls here…) I’m big on choosing people over business. Angel isn’t much of a quality time kind of guy though so I can’t imagine him asking me to hang out, haha!
    Rachel G recently posted…The Official Announcement

    • chelsea

      April 27, 2015 at 5:40 pm

      ohhh haven’t heard ‘call me maybe’ in a while, rachel! i’ll probably need a dance party to that one later 🙂 oh my husband is big time on quality time so there’s lots of “heeeey come play this game with me or hang out with me in some capacity!” excited about your official announcement too 🙂

  7. Lindsay @ The Newlywed Notebook

    April 27, 2015 at 6:46 pm

    SO true! I’ve been trying to manage this a lot lately actually. I’ve found myself saying “no” too much to my husband and focusing way too much on my to-do list, so I’ve really been working to make the change. I actually did that this afternoon and it was SO nice to just spend some quality time with my hubby and puppy. 🙂
    Lindsay @ The Newlywed Notebook recently posted…7 Netflix Series Your Husband Will Watch With You

    • chelsea

      April 28, 2015 at 8:22 am

      i’m so glad you spent quality time together yesterday, lindsay (puppy included)! i’ve been working on saying yes more too and there’s a change! 🙂

  8. Diana

    April 28, 2015 at 6:53 am

    I think sometimes we get so caught up in the weeds that we forget about the things we need to do for our heart. I’m glad you were able to recognize that you needed to spend you day with your husband and that it was the more important thing to do. Take the little moments as you can get them, life is short.
    Diana recently posted…Because I married a Feminist

    • chelsea

      April 28, 2015 at 8:25 am

      i think you’re spot on diana about getting caught up in the weeds! it was definitely the right thing to do and i just have to say i’m SO excited about the article that you listed ‘because i married a feminist’ i can’t wait to read it!

  9. Danielle @ The-Lifestyle-Project

    April 28, 2015 at 10:09 am

    So refreshing to hear you say that – choosing love and making memories is how I try to live my life. I feel like the idea of hustling and grinding and working hard are so trendy right now, and while I’m not against any of those things, I don’t think they need to be done all the time. I’m trying to get to a point where I can make the money I want working 6 hours a day, and while that’s certainly not the way to make the most money in the world, it’s enough to make the money we need to live the lifestyle we want. I hope you and your family had fun on the weekend. OH – and that song is SO catch. The video is adorable!
    Danielle @ The-Lifestyle-Project recently posted…I’m Giving Up Free Healthcare and Moving to ‘Merica!

    • chelsea

      April 30, 2015 at 7:31 pm

      you’re SO right with this idea of hustling and working so so hard all the time and ‘i’m better if i never take a break blah blah blah’ but life is also happening. you’re spot on danielle…i think you may have also sparked another blog post idea so thank you!

  10. chelsea jacobs

    April 29, 2015 at 8:15 am

    I so love this–sometimes you just have to stop what you’re doing and evaluate what’s the most important!
    chelsea jacobs recently posted…Series You Need to be Binge-Watching on Netflix.

    • chelsea

      April 30, 2015 at 7:45 pm

      totally true chelsea! sometimes it’s hard because we feel like we ‘have’ to do something but you’re right that it’s about evaluating what’s most important!

  11. Ashley

    April 30, 2015 at 1:25 pm

    I love this! I have a to-do list for this weekend, but I’m also making sure my to-do doesn’t interfere with my husbands weekend off with me. I will remember this, for this weekend.
    Ashley recently posted…The Happy Wives Club {Book Review}

    • chelsea

      April 30, 2015 at 4:46 pm

      glad you’ll be remembering this for the upcoming weekend ashley! it’s definitely about balance that works for you both!

  12. Kait

    April 30, 2015 at 9:32 pm

    I almost crashed my car multiple times while dancing to that song and driving through upstate last week. I’m used to the rhythms of the subway, not back roads!

    Also Ingrid’s AfterLife always gets me up and moving. And I’m currently listening to the Empire soundtrack on repeat. Yes, even Drip Drop.

    As for laughing…can’t remember. About sums up April… but its a new month so I’m going to commit to laughing my tail off starting once I finish your post. 😉 Yes my break is reading your blog. <3
    Kait recently posted…How to Keep Your Sense of Self in a Relationship

    • chelsea

      May 1, 2015 at 10:24 am

      well no song is worth dying for but it’s seriously so good right?! monogamish even 🙂 haha ohhh looking up “afterlife” right now! cheers to a new month and i feel honored that part of your break includes my blog kait! you da best.