Good morning! Welcome to our 1,000th post here in the marriage blog and let me tell you, it feels so weird to say we’ve been here for a 1000 different entries tackling everything from wedding planning to problem solving to dating and more. It’s been a real pleasure for me to be writing for this topic for nearly a year now and to share it with such an awesome co-blogger as Sherry Holetzky. With that in mind, we thought we’d offer a small treat for our 1,000th blog and we interviewed each other.
So without further ado, let me present Sherry, one of the best co-bloggers I could have asked for here:
Question: When did you start writing for the marriage blog and what personal goals did you have in mind for contributing to the marriage blog?
Hey, that’s two questions in one!
As to the first part, I really don’t know. I’d have to look it up, and I’m too lazy right now. I was writing in Frugal Living at the time, and I all but begged Lisa to put me in Marriage. My other two topics were (and still are) Home and Kids’ Crafts, which are a lot of fun, but I wanted to cover at least one topic that was a bit more serious.
You might have guessed that one of my goals was to provide counterpoints to some of some of the debate topics. I like that we can both passionately share different sides of an issue and still get along, because I feel that respectful debate is important.
Marriage can be incredibly rewarding but it can also present challenges. In that light, I also wanted to offer information based on personal experience, observation, and research that I hope will prove helpful, hopeful, interesting.
Question: If you needed to submit three blogs you wrote for marriage as your best, what would those three be?
Thanks for putting me on the spot! I guess if I had to pick, I’d choose the following as being three that I feel are the most important. Treating our spouses the way we treat our friends, showing common courtesy and consideration, are imperative for building a strong marriage. At the same time, we still have to maintain our own identities and take care of ourselves. The last article talks about how to choose a therapist that is interested in helping save the marriage, instead of focusing entirely on individual wants and needs. Dividing a married couple into two competing sides instead of focusing on the relationship isn’t a good strategy for repairing a marriage.
- How to Stay Friends with Your Spouse
- Marriage Tips: Yourself (Taking care of you)
- Can Therapy Hurt Your Marriage?
Question: What have you learned from your experience in writing for the marriage blog?
One thing I’ve learned is that people have very different ideas when it comes to marriage. Well, I did know that, and I wasn’t surprised by that fact, but I was surprised by just how far some of those ideas go. I feel strongly that marriage should mean something.
Question: Has writing for the marriage blog helped you in some way in your own marriage?
Somewhat… it makes me stop and think and examine my own relationship at times. Overall, I am blessed with a happy marriage. It’s not perfect of course, but I can’t complain. I think the best part of writing about marriage (in regard to my own marriage) is that it makes me appreciate my husband more.
Question: As you look forward to the soon to be dawning new year and the future of the marriage blog, what topics would you like to see more thoroughly covered?
Come on, you know I’m not that organized. I haven’t even started thinking about next year. I’m still trying to get through this one. If I had to pick something it would be learning to love unconditionally. I feel that is the key to any close relationship.
And in that theme, here’s Heather!
Question: I know you’ve been with Families.com since the blogs first opened, but did you start out in Marriage?
Actually, I applied for and started out in Fitness and I still write for the Fitness blog today. I guest wrote in Marriage in the very beginning though and filled in there continuously for a while until it was given to me. I think I was one of the first people juggling two blogs as an assignment and I’ve been with it since January.
Revenge Question: Your three best articles?
I can’t say for quality because I honestly think most of what I write is pretty bad when I go back and look at it. But I can give my three favorite articles that probably count among my best:
- Anything in the Marriage Debates — I enjoy writing my perspective in large part because now I have you to do counterpoint and I think that’s really important.
- Housewife vs Career Wife
- Will You Marry Me?
Question: What is it like working with a co-host who has such vastly different views?
I love it. I am an opinionated person and I have strong feelings on a lot of different subjects. I like having someone who can help me clarify my argument by presenting the opposing viewpoint in such a concise and well-written manner. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and I respect that. I also, respect tremendously, the argument that doesn’t begin or end with Na-na Boo Boo. 😀
Question: If you could give just one piece of advice on marriage, what would it be?
It’s not a fairytale. It doesn’t just magically happen. The happiest marriage on the planet isn’t something mystical. Too often, I see people give up or think they can never have the perfect marriage. There is no such thing. Marriage is work and it takes more than a few mice to sew a dress and a fairy godmother to wave a magic wand. It takes accepting who you are and who they are and who you can be together and then a lot of work.
It goes without saying that we both love it here.
To cap off our 1,000th post, I asked Lisa Pietsch for a comment on marriage and here is what she had to say:
Don’t marry for money, looks or sex. Marry someone who makes you laugh.
When you’re both getting your diapers changed in the nursing home, you’ll need a laugh.
Thanks for being with us for our first millenium of posts and we look forward to spending the next 1,000 posts with you too.