five minutes

last night as i laid on our bed finishing my homework for the night, Chin came and sat down on the bed, obviously frustrated and discouraged.

it was one of those moments where i didn't need to ask what was wrong; he wanted to talk and i was ready to listen.

i quietly closed my computer and crawled over to him and rubbed his back while he told me how frustrated he was with school and his MCAT prep course.

he felt like he wasn't making any progress and that it seemed like so many things were piling up on top of him.

i didn't know what to say. obviously i don't know what it feels like to have so many things on his plate, i don't know what it feels like trying to prepare for the test that will shape the next eight years of our life and our entire future.

i see Christian and i see how amazing he is. i am so confident in his abilities and i can see how much he's progressing. but looking from the inside out, sometimes he doesn't see that. 

it was nice to just let him vent and pour over his frustrations, because sometimes he doesn't like to talk about his feelings (imagine a boy not wanting to talk about feelings... ha!) and it's usually me complaining or venting. 

he's always a good listener and it was nice to listen back.

after our conversation, he looked at me and said, "thanks for those five minutes hayl. they were just what i needed and it meant the world."

now obviously i didn't do anything but really sit there and rub his shoulders, but for him, it was what he needed. 

sometimes i think that's what marriage, a friendship, or any relationship is all about:

being there. even if it's only for five minutes.

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