Temporal Preparation

This post is from one of the drafts I've had sitting around for months but never known where to go with. It's a quote by Freud that I liked and I've decided to relate it to temporal preparation for marriage.

"When making a decision of minor importance, I have always found it advantageous to consider all the pros and cons. In vital matters, however, such as the choice of a mate or a profession, the decision should come from the unconscious, from somewhere within ourselves. In the important decisions of personal life, we should be governed, I think, by the deep inner needs of our nature." ~Freud

I already talked a little bit in another post about how at times relationships are a feeling rather than logic.  I think this quote backs that idea up quite well. But what about the "decision[s] of minor importance"?

There are a lot of skills that come in handy in a marriage that the person you're dating may or may not have:
-Budget skills- knows how to set up and follow a budget, handles money well.
-Education- whether formal or informal.
-Job- source of income.
-Health care/nutrition/exercise- healthy habits.
-Household skills- cleaning/keeping up the house.
-Sewing/clothing care- knows their way around fixing and creating basic things.
-Food storage- prepared for emergencies.
-Basic car skills- tire changing, basic idea of how cars work and what to do when they don't.
-Work ethic- knows how to work and choses to do so.
-Emergency preparedness- has plan of action whether the emergency is physical or financial.
-Manage time- uses time in a profitable way.

It's not necessary that one has all of these skills but they definitely come in handy in a marriage. You read the list and think yeah, yeah those are all good skills to have. Sounds like a good idea. Here's the thing- preparation precedes performance. We gots to be preppin' now.
Test yourself:
What are you currently doing to prepare for the temporal needs of your future family?
What are things that you need to work on?

I looked at that list and thought Easy-peasy lemon squeazy..
I'm working on budgeting and being better at saving money.
I'm working on household skills as I clean my house each week and take on those responsibilities.
I'm working on education as I give myself new projects selling things online or re-doing a porch swing.
I'm working on eating healthier and learning to cook now that I have a little extra time on my hands.

Then I started actually writing it down and I've still got a long way to go. Never until the past couple months of my life have I ever felt like I wasn't enough. I've always been the one to push to the top of my activities and then wait around bored while everyone else caught up. That sounds super prideful and arrogant of me but that's how I've always felt... so far ahead that I always have to wait for others to catch up.
But I have so much still to learn. So much still to build into my life.

I have no idea about cars. I know how to check the oil and I've seen a few tires changed. That's about it.
My emergency preparedness is slim to none.
Those are things I get to work on and learn.

And that's the key.
A willingness to learn.

No one is going to have all of those skills. Those are things that take time that you can always continue to develop in a marriage. So those "decision[s] of minor importance" are really kind of minor. They're so good to have but in the big picture what is most important is that the person you're looking for doesn't necessarily have basic car skills but has the willingness to learn some day.

That trait can get you anywhere.