Forty years. To me that's a lifetime. To my parents, it's the sign of a lot of love and a lot of hard work. If anyone has ever told you marriage, or any relationship for that matter, is easy...they're lying. Plain and simple. And don't let Hollywood fool you into thinking that 1. sex comes easy - and always rocks, 2. your man should, and will, always romance the pants off you (this goes back to the big sex lie #1), and 3. you'll live happily ever after. Lie. Lie. Lie. The divorce rates in America and around the world clearly speak to the fact that marriage is hard.
So how can we keep our relationships alive and strong year after year? Well, there's a lot of answers to that, but let's just focus on one for today... Remember. Remember why you fell in love with your spouse in the first place.
Forty four years ago, my Mom made these undies for my Dad at the ripe old age of 19. He still keeps them in his undie drawer. I'm not sure why he does, perhaps as a reminder - I sure hope so. Anyway, the point is this - I'm pretty sure my Mom still thinks sex is fun (although it kinda gags me to think about that) and I'm quite sure that his body does NOT look like it did 44 years ago. None the less, I do think she still "craves his bod" because of the love that she has for him, not for his abs or firm bootie (both of which were lost in a time/space continuum). My parents have seen and experienced a lot and they are still romancing one another in their own little ways.
So, why did you marry your spouse and promise forever? Me? Well, my hubs was and is hysterically funny, extremely smart, wicked talented, a leader, and above all - a godly, humble man. Sure he still annoys the heck out of me by leaving the toilet seat up, mistaking the floor beside the bed for a dirty clothes hamper, and oh sooo much more, but no one is perfect. Not even me. The little things that annoy me and quite honestly piss me off sometimes are not things he does to make me mad or hurt me. They are simply a part of who he is... a tad forgetful and a tad messy. But when I married him, my vows were for better or for worse and I'm pretty sure his little idiosyncrasies are far from the worst that we'll face together. Year one was proof that we'd face super hard times but we're fighting like hell everyday to make our marriage forever and it is so worth it.
Now it's your turn to remember - what was it that made you fall in love? xo
