Devotion Levels: Benchmarksby Courtney Mroch | More from this Blogger 13 May 2008 07:21 PM After my More Devoted Than He Is article, which some may have construed as a rant (probably rightly so), it may seem I'm hung up on the matter of devotion levels. I am. The cause of my distress is fairy tales. Not the Disney variety, but true life fairy tales. Ones where the prince is an Everyman and the princess-to-be an Everywoman. They're common folk, same as you or me, who have not only found true love, but have seen it put to the test and have conquered the challenge together. Trading Places was full of anecdotes about such people, but three situations talked about in the book really stood out to me. I admired the way the couples acted during their trials by fire and couldn't help but be envious of the devotion they showed. Theirs were the kind of stories that not only set devotion level benchmarks, but set it very high. Sophia's Story The first such scenario I came across in the book was the case of the weigher and gauger who worked at the Boston Custom House. One day he lost his job. He saw it as tragedy, but his wife, Sophia, saw it as opportunity. Now he would have time to write. He thought she was nuts. Who was going to work and bring in money to care for the family? No need. She had squirreled away a little extra from the funds he gave her each week and had saved up enough worth a year's pay. She'd done it because she believed in her husband's talents and wanted to give him the luxury of time so he could devote himself to becoming a successful scribe. The author? Nathaniel Hawthorne. Putting His Wife Before the NFL This one really got to me because this truly is the stuff of fairy tales, and I desperately wish Wayne was this committed to me. When Buffalo Bills linebacker Chris Spielman's wife, Stephanie, was diagnosed with breast cancer, he didn't hesitate putting his career on hold for an entire season to be there for his wife. He took over everything. Cooking, cleaning, caring for the kids, getting her to doctor's appointments...he even shaved his head when she lost all her hair! She never asked him to do any of it. He just did. "I'd play in a heartbeat, but what kind of man would I be if I backed out on my word to her? I wouldn't be a man at all." ~-Chris Spielman, as related in Trading Places-~ The Blind Woman's Husband Then there was the story of the military officer's wife who suddenly went blind. First he helped her learn to cope with being blind. When she gained confidence that she could manage on her own and wanted to return to work, he took her to and from work every day. But that started to interfere with his job. She would have to take the bus, by herself, which threw her into a new panic. But he was there with her every step of the way for weeks while she learned the route. But even when they were sure she knew the route, she panicked when the day came for her to go it alone. Unbeknownst to her, she wasn't. Her husband watched from afar to make sure she was okay, and she didn't know until the bus driver clued her in one day. He told her about the man in the military uniform watching her get off the bus, head across the parking lot, walk up the stairs, and open the door. "And once that door closes, he stands straight and tall, like a sentinel, and he salutes you, and then he blows you a kiss." ~-From "A Salute and a Kiss," Chapter 6, Trading Places-~ Learn more about Courtney Mroch  Courtney Mroch is a wife, a proud pet parent, and a writer. She's been with her husband, high school sweetheart Wayne Pryor, over 20 years, married 11 of those. She's "mom" to Mr. Meow, a.k. Relevantmarriage tags User Comments Sherry Holetzky (11404) 14 May 2008 08:42 AMYeah, it was great reading. :) Community Tags benchmarks, devotion levels, devotion, love, Trading Places Discuss this article
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