Take it and be grateful

When planning the 40th anniversary party for my parents, my mom kept offering to buy items.

"I can get some Chex Mix to put in bowls on the table," she said in a phone call.

"Why on earth would you buy something for your own party? No, you're not buying Chex Mix," I answered.

"We can at least pick up a couple of cases of water."

"No! It's your party that we're giving you, you're not buying anything for it."

I hung up the phone and told my husband that my parents were trying to buy stuff for their own party. Who does that?

Fast forward about four months, and a sweet girl from church is planning a baby shower for me.

I texted her and asked if I could provide some food or help set-up. She responded with, "It's a party for you, you're not allowed to help out in any financial way."

OK, so I get it, Mom. It's hard to let people do stuff for you.

I have another friend who is pregnant and really down for the count. Thankfully, I didn't have to deal with that, but pregnancy does make you tired and makes moving a bit more difficult. Both of our husbands have been pitching in, and as wives, we've struggled a bit trying to accept those gifts.

I know Nate would bring me a glass of water, but I'm not an invalid, so I can get it for myself. I don't want him to think that I'm lazy. Would I like it if I didn't have to get up? Yes. I'm certainly not going to ask for help though.

I think for a lot of women, and people in general, it's hard to accept help. It's even harder to ask for it. Yet, at some points in life, we need it.

What I told my friend was, I think that our husbands appreciate the opportunity to serve us. I think that they feel needed when they can take care of us when we're not at our best.

I like the saying, "Take it and be grateful."

Sometimes not accepting a gift is just as rude as asking for it. Sometimes arguing when someone wants to do something takes the joy out of it for them. Sometimes you just accept the gift, accept the help and show that you're thankful for it.

I have a feeling I'm going to have more of that to come when our baby's born. I'm going to have to just accept that I'm not a superhero and take help and be thankful.

Remind me of that if I forget, OK?