Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Counseling

I did a session of premarital counseling with a young couple yesterday. They're getting married in May, but I'm not doing the wedding, just the premarital stuff since the pastor who's marrying them is flying out from Michigan. Anyway, we spent an hour chatting, and they seem like a lovely couple. I always find this part of my job somewhat ironic. First of all, we call it counseling, but it isn't exactly. I'm certainly not trained to provide any kind of therapy or counseling of that nature. We use a premarital inventory that is a good jumping off point, and I find it helpful, but there are moments when I think, what on earth am I doing? I've never been married, I'm not allowed to cohabitate (I love that word, btw), and I suck at relationships in general. So there we are, talking about conflict resolution and communication, etc., and I'm thinking, "wow, I feel like such a hypocrite!" On a different note, I also wonder if I'm too naive for these kinds of things. Yes, I know, most often I come across as cynical and sarcastic, but for the most part I tend to take people at face value. This seems like a nice, well-adjusted couple with good heads on their shoulders. For all I know they could be raving sociopaths. OK, hopefully I'd get some vibes if that were the case, but it's one more thing I wonder about as I do these sessions--are these people just making stuff up that they think I want to hear?

Whatever. In happy news, the sun has finally decided to grace us with its presence! It's been gorgeous since Sunday, and I've been loving every minute of it! It's a little overcast today, but still supposed to be in the upper 50's, so I can't complain. And I'm wearing fabulous shoes approximately the color of this font, and a happy yellow jacket to help celebrate spring!

1 comment:

k-bomb said...

Yeah Victor and I seem normal but we are total psychopaths. It's funny because I didn't really know how bitchy I could really be until I got married. And I don't think you need to be married to counsel people on how to live with each other. I always hate it when people say stuff like "you're not married, you wouldn't know what it's like" Well, it's not like all married people are the same!! Those people just need to get over themselves. Plus, you're bringing a perspective that is very important: the single perspective! I think married people forget that they are also individuals and need to realize that there is still a shred of singledom inside their brains. It's important to recognize because it can cause problems. Hence my bitchiness:)