Marriage Moats- Dragon

Published: Tue, 06/19/12

Marriage Moats

Caring for Marriage

I made a quilt for Zachary that has twelve dragons on it. They are different colors, with a variety of foes defending turreted castles. He is my third son to be enthralled with battle. I read Hardy Boys books to Lukas by the hour, the entire Redwall series to Micah, and the Eragon trilogy to Zack. They apparently arrived in my arms with an insatiable thirst for heroes. My daughters too begged for books about Laura and Mary defending their cabin from a blizzard, or Anne of Green Gables conquering the hearts of terse Marilla and silent Matthew.

Why is this?

I suppose if I had foreknowledge that my child was going to be bushwacked by a dragon, or orphaned, I would invest in strategies to prepare them. One tactic would be to drench their imaginations with stories of bravery, rich with sword wielding mice and plucky school mistresses. It would be prudent to nudge them to practice for hours and years, like bow tethered boys with homemade arrows that would not pierce cold butter.

It seems inevitable that marriages are besieged by insidious dragons too. The shapes vary enough to disarm the most watchful couples. Misunderstandings jab between the cracks of our plated armor, and fiery accusations singe our fleshy limbs.

I am thirsty for images of couples who have outsmarted the dragons of self importance, or loosened the tongues of mute spouses. The other day was a quiet one for John and I, gaping with long stretches sans words. I had let slip a barbed comment that slammed shut the portals of communication.

Perhaps that is why the Parent of all children embedded in our hearts the craving to defend long before the first flashing blade sliced the smoky air. If we wait to google fencing when the dragon's fiery breath is licking under the door it may be too late.

Here is a song about Michael fighting the dragon from the book of Revelation.

Photo by Rhys Asplundh

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