To Want the Best

There's a meme going around social media that has a photo of a plate of nachos and text that goes something like: 

Marriage is sharing a plate of nachos and trying to eat faster than your partner so that you get the cheesiest ones.

When I saw it, it broke my heart a little.

Is marriage really trying to get all or most of the best of something you share instead of your partner? Is it a competition? Is it selfishness? 

To me, marriage is sharing a plate of nachos and saving the best ones for your partner and then arguing over who gets the last best nacho because you want the other to have it. 

A loving relationship is wanting your partner to have the best, to enjoy what they have, to at the very least have an equal share, and at the very most have all of the best of what you have to offer. It's valuing the other person enough to be content with equal or less because you love that person and want them to have more, while not worrying about having less because you know your partner loves you in the same way and wants the best for you as well.

I can't count the times that I've given up having something I wanted or doing something that I liked so that my husband could have something he needs or do something that he loves. The enjoyment I receive when my husband is enjoying himself is the same as, if not greater than, the enjoyment I would have gotten from having or doing. And my husband has reciprocated too many times to count. 

Today, I intend ...

... to want the best for my husband, my children, my friends, and all those in my life and to help them have the best.

... to want the best for myself, but to not force others to have less in the process. 

... to make nachos because now I want nachos ... and to make enough for everyone to share and to make sure they're all super cheesy.

... to celebrate others accomplishments, no matter how small.

... to recognize and respect that things that don't matter much to me may matter greatly to someone else.