Earlier this year, I wrote about the “Love Is…” cartoons created by Kim Casali and their significance to my relationship with Wayne throughout our years together.
In the vein of those cartoons, sans the drawings, I’ve whittled down some of the lessons I’ve learned from Families.com members, other bloggers, and my own personal experiences to compile a list of a few things I think marriage is.
Marriage Is…: Filling in the Rest of the Sentence
1. Not always easy.
2. Sometimes aggravating.
3. About needing to trade places (i.e. putting yourself in your spouse’s shoes) from time to time. (Especially helpful to do when they’re upset and biting but you’re not sure why. Seeing life from their eyes can help figure out what’s troubling them, which in turns help you figure out how to best be there for them.)
4. Getting satisfaction not from all your spouse does to make you happy, but from all you do that brings him or her happiness.
5. Adding extra crushed red peppers to the spaghetti sauce and chili to make it hotter than you like to accommodate your spouse’s taste buds. (Alternatively, it’s leaving out some peppers when you know your spouse prefers a more mild seasoning.)
6. Being comfortable with being vulnerable and trusting your heart to another.
7. Staying healthy and growing old together.
8. Realizing sometimes memory fails and details are lost, but the heart never forgets what’s important.
9. Sharing dessert.
10. Picking up the slack when your spouse isn’t able to.
11. Being able to both accept and forgive when an “I’m sorry” is offered.
12. Learning how to say “I’m sorry.”
13. Saying “I’m sorry” when you don’t know why you should have to other than you know it’ll help restore harmony.
14. Extending your hand to offer comfort and reassurance when things get tough or scary.
15. Saying what you mean, when you mean it, tactfully and respectfully.
16. Respecting your spouse’s opinions, inclinations, and hobbies.
17. Cherishing each married moment.
18. Being able to make each other laugh whether you’re rich or poor, having good times or bad, in sickness and in health.
19. Listening more and talking less.
20. Remembering not to get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life. (I see this saying in catalogs all the time for pictures and plaques and stuff. I thought it’s message beared repeating.)
Question to Readers
How would you fill in the blank?
Courtney Mroch also writes in Pets and Marriage. For a full listing of her articles click here.
Some Articles That Helped Me Make the Above List
A Blind Date Leads to Love and Years
Love Lessons Learned on an Alaskan Vacation
The Newlywed and Not-So-Newlywed Game
Long Marriages: This Family Knows How to Do It
Keeping the Happily Ever After
The Priest’s List of Five Must Haves for a Happy Match
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