31 Years of Marriage

When we marry, we hope it will be a fairy tale marriage lasting forever. Some marriages work out and unfortunately, a lot more don’t these days. I’ve been very blessed to still be madly in love with my husband.

I’m not here to tell you that it has been easy, because it hasn’t always been.  The one thing that is really important to my husband and me is trying to never go to bed angry at one another.  We always try to kiss each other good night and in the morning when we wake up (that’s when he’s home and not out of town for work).

We all have faced challenges in our marriages. Some problems are fixable and forgivable and a lot of times they are just too big to fix. Why should anyone have to live with or put up with some of the awful things that go on behind closed doors?  No one should have to deal with physical or verbal violence in a marriage.  That is not the way marriage should be.

Every marriage that has children will, at one time or another, argue about them. It’s because one sees things one way and the other person sees things in a different way. That’s part of parenting. You will not agree on everything.  Fighting in any relationship will happen. How you handle the situation says a lot about the person you are.  Think about what you’re going to say before you say it. Sometimes words cut deeper than a knife and the scars that you leave behind will never heal.

I’ve been very blessed to be married to a man for 31 years who still loves me for who I am and accepts all my faults. I wear my heart on my sleeve, I tell it like it is, and if I truly believe I’m right about something, I’ll fight till the end to show you why. But when I’m wrong, I will admit it.  The truth is that no two people always agree on everything, which is why they say opposites attract and you balance each other out.

In any relationship, you will have good days, bad days and those days where you ask yourself, “What have I gotten myself into?”  But in the end, you’ll look back at what the two of you have accomplished together and you’ll know it was all worth every ounce of blood, sweat and tears that you put into keeping your marriage going. I’ve always said it’s  God, family, work and I’ve tried to live my life in that order.

My mum always told us to make time for just the two of us whenever we can because in the end, your children will grow up and make a life for themselves and you will be back to where you started out. It will be just the two of you and you still need to like and love each other.

Remember, marriage is a give and take. You’re not always right and you’re  not always wrong and the way you do things is not the way your partner might do them, but in the end you will come together and it will all work out.

So from one old married person to a young person who is getting or has just gotten married, it is well worth everything you put into it, because what you get out of marriage is a lot more than you would ever expect.  Most of you will find the love of your life TTEOT which means “till the end of time” as my husband and I say to each other. Live, love and laugh. It’s well worth it!!

Rock on, people.  Rock on!