Category Archives: Marriage

Read tips on how to keep your love alive and healthy while living in the real world.

Destination Weddings: Do or Don’t?

Writing about Disney Cruise Weddings/Vow Ceremonies made me think about destination weddings.  Given that I wanted my wedding to be as small and simple as possible, it’s difficult for me to relate to those interested in having a destination wedding. For me, the concept only seems to make sense if the bride or the groom actually hails from the area in which they’re getting married.  Maybe he or she was born abroad, or on the other side of the country.  It’s one thing to ask your guests to spend a lot on travel expenses just because you want to get … Continue reading →

Stay-at-Home Moms More Likely to Divorce?

I heard something interesting on the John Tesh radio show the other day.  He said that a study found there was a higher chance of divorce when moms stay home with the kids and dads work. He actually said it was fact.  Now, I was not able to verify the findings of this.  I didn’t spend a whole lot of time researching but the little bit I did…well, I didn’t find this study he was apparently referring to. I have quite a bit of apprehension about this.  Maybe I’m just partial since I was a stay-at-home mom.  But one of … Continue reading →

Considering Your Spouse’s Point of View

The difference between knowing and really knowing, or feeling, something is amazing. I’m the first person to tell others that a key to any relationship, but especially a marriage, is trying to think from the other person’s point of view. It’s absolutely essential in a marriage, because we are spending the rest of our lives living with this person. The more we try to understand how our spouse thinks, the better off we’ll be. I know this, and yet it’s so hard for me to act on it. For example: once in a while my husband has to work the … Continue reading →

Do Men Want a Clone of Mother?

Recently a study came out that revealed men are more likely to marry women who look like their mother. In contrast, women were less likely to marry men who look like their fathers. It was suggested that this may be true about men because they are visually oriented. And for women, they are more about fatherly qualities. Now some believe these findings are creepy. I personally don’t put much weight into this study. Maybe it’s because I am looking at it from my own perspective. My father is Caucasian, of German descent. My husband is half Mexican and half Polish. … Continue reading →

Living with Engineers: Spouses, not Supervisors

Living with an engineer involves more than just having to hear the word “efficient” all of the time. A lot of engineers end up in management positions, and that means one thing: they’re bred to supervise. The word “efficient” does get bandied about, in how they think tasks ought to be accomplished. I already shared my story about measuring butter for baking, and how my husband felt about that. That’s not the only time something like that has happened. Sometimes, I find Jonathan trying to supervise me when we’re completing a project. To be fair, sometimes I ask for it. … Continue reading →

Generational Differences in Marriage Dynamics: Cooking

Due to all of my volunteering, I spend a lot of time each week with people who are more in my parents’ generation than mine. That’s normal enough; once we graduate and enter the work force, our pool of peers naturally expands beyond our age group. I have no problem with this most of the time, but once in a while I feel our generational difference, and that usually relates to our views on marriage. My friends don’t have extremely different views on marriage than me; they’re certainly not the types who think their husbands rule the roost. I don’t … Continue reading →

Handling Disagreements

I can handle small disagreements. We can usually move past them and get on with life. But it’s when we disagree about bigger issues that it can become problematic. Especially when neither one of us is willing to budge. Through the course of our married life, we have learned something about disagreements. They should end up going one of three directions. The first is that we agree to disagree and either table the disagreement for another time or let it go altogether. It depends on how significant the issue is. For instance, I wanted to move for a long time. … Continue reading →

Four Terrifying Marriage Proposals

While surfing on the Internet I found a list of the “scariest marriage proposals” compiled by MSN. Given that this was just before Halloween, I thought they would have a spooky vibe. Well, I was wrong, though they were certainly scary. The four real-life marriage proposals were as follows: 1) A pilot took his girlfriend up for a ride in his small plane, pretended they were crashing, and handed his girlfriend an emergency checklist. His proposal was written on the list: “initiate ring engagement procedure.” 2) A stuntman faked a car crash and his subsequent death. His girlfriend was called … Continue reading →

Arguing Your Way to Divorce?

Although infidelity is probably one of the biggest reasons for couples to divorce, I did a little research on some of the other causes. One thing I found (and was a little surprised about) is that arguing is another big reason for ending a marriage. So why am I surprised? Maybe it’s my own deluded thinking, but doesn’t every couple argue? Okay…I know, I know. Arguing once-in-a-while and every single day is very different. I will give you that. But arguing in itself doesn’t seem to be a good reason to divorce. The act of disagreeing, fighting or whatever else … Continue reading →

Searching for That Spark

Yesterday Jon and I were watching one of our television shows. It’s a fantasy action series, but sometimes it contains romance. In this episode, two of the main characters are dating. They call each other first thing in the morning, and the girl guesses what the guy is wearing. She always gets it within two tries. Cue huge groans from the couch. Our displeasure continued for the entire episode, as the couple’s saccharine take on dating persisted. I’ve always been clear: this type of romance, not my cup of tea. While Jon and I were soppier than we are now, … Continue reading →