Lessons on marriage

Next week, Sean and I will celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary and while that is no significant number, today I want to share a few lessons I have learned since Sean and I said our vows.

1. Love him anyways - When he makes a mistake, love him anyways. When he doesn't pick up his socks or takes out the trash even when you asked him for the 6th time, you love him anyways. If you expect him to plan a date for you and he wants to just have a quiet night at home in front of a movie, you love him anyways. Even if he doesn't get things perfectly, which frankly husbands and wives for that matter, never will, you love them anyways. 

2. Tell him what you want but ask in a polite way - hey news flash, guys are not mind readers! If you want him to clean up a little bit more around the house, or not leave his shoes around the living room, just tell him. Couples who are married 50 years or even more probably have a great understanding of what their spouse wants but they don't always get it correct, why, because they don't read our minds. You two are still individuals after all of those years of marriage but you will never share the same mind so you don't know exactly what your spouse is thinking or wanting from you exactly. 

3. Laugh a lot! When the day has you down, laughter helps! When life is a little rough, laugh and it will help the roughness a bit. Even when marriages have rough spots, having laughter will help and make those rough spots seem a bit more manageable. Sean is responsible for most of the laughter in our marriage and I am thankful to him for that! 

4. Realize that marriage will be hard just like every other areas of life whether it is work or raising children for example. But you don't give up on a hard project at work right, or your children are really testing your patience, you don't give it. The same goes with marriage, you don't give up. Choose to smile a bit more and laugh a bit more during those hard times in marriage. 

5. Recognize you and your spouse are on the same team and are not enemies. When you want your spouse to see your point of view or come to realize your side of the argument, that is when you make them your enemy. You think their side of the argument or opinion is wrong and you have to convince them your opinion is right, but why? Marriage is all about teamwork and if you constantly view your spouse as the enemy because they don't share your view, then the team part of your marriage won't work.

Source: society6.com via Molly on Pinterest

27 comments:

The Pink Growl said...

Love these tips - so true! I haven't been married, but I feel like I practically was!

Unknown said...

These are so great Meg!! My favorites are #1,4,5 but they are all so true! Happy early anniversary to you and Sean!!

<3becky
www.loosefromthezoo.com

Pamela said...

Oh I just love all of these!! :) SO true!! Especially the last one! A lot of people go around talking bad about their spouse, thinking it's cool - um no, it's def not! Love the quote too!

Care said...

I love it, HAPPY 3 YEARS OF LOVE!
These are some great words of wisdom. Laughing a lot and being 'best buds' is one of the best things you can do!
Keep on getting those chills of love and hold on to your Mr. Right!

TheTinyHeart said...

Happy almost anniversary! This is all great advice on marriage. I have learned you have to pick your battles and compromise!

-Sharon
The Tiny Heart

k8te said...

love these tips! happy almost anniversary!

Sarah said...

Totally agree, and Happy Anniversary! The most important thing I learned in marriage is that love is a choice, you should wake up every morning and chose to love your partner no matter what...although that is sometimes hard!

still being [molly] said...

LOVE this post and love your heart, meg!!!

whit | Black Little Button blog said...

Awe I loved this post, nicely written dear
-wHiT

Jordan said...

I'm not married, hell I'm not even engaged, but I try to remind myself (and him) of these things when and if times get rough! So far, so good. I know it all changes once you're married but hopefully we can carry these habits into that when the time comes. Beautiful post!

Jessica said...

Happy almost anniversary! Love all the tips! Guys are definitely not mind readers, and you will get upset with yourself if you expect them to be! XO!

Cara said...

Love these tips!! So true in any relationship- it always takes work and I think sometimes people forget that and give up so easily.

Kasey Lynne said...

This post is something that I've needed lately. Marriage gets really hard sometimes and it's definitely an adjustment. But you're in it together as a team...hard work pays off! :D

Happy early anniversary my dear friend!

Carly said...

Yes yes yes!!!! Love this, happy almost anniversary!

Carly
www.lipglossandcrayons.com

{The Perfect Palette} said...

Yes! This advice is priceless!

Chrissy
The Perfect Palette

Anonymous said...

These are all such great tips! Congrats on the three years! xx. McKenna Lou
www.lynnandlou.com

Lauren said...

great post! I can't even count the number of times that Nick has looked at me and said...you have to tell me, I can't read your mind! ha!

Kendall said...

Congrats on almost 3 years! So exciting! Can you believe how fast these years in marriage can go?! Before you know it you will be celebrating your 50th with all your children and grandchildren...weird :)

Unknown said...

Great tips. Glad you shared them :)

Anonymous said...

Awww I love these tips. My husband and I have been married for three years too!! I think one of my favorite things about him is that he makes me laugh so much. We have so much fun together. xoxo

Darby Hawley said...

Great reminders! I had to share this post on twitter!

Happily Ever Parker said...

We're coming up on a year of being together (7 of dating) and this is all so true. You always have to grown with one another too!! Grow together, no apart <3

Amy said...

These are all great pieces of advice! I hope you guys have a wonderful anniversary :)

Sarah Alway said...

Laughing a lot is so, so important. Life is going to be hard, and you're only going to get through it together by trying to see the brighter side of things. :-)

Sarah @ Life As Always

Jane said...

happy (early) 3 years! +1 to laughing a lot!

Carol {Everyday Delights} said...

Happy almost anniversary! We will be celebrating our 3rd anniversary on July 31! 2010 was a great wedding year! :) And great post, I agree with them all!

Jess at Just Rainbows and Butterflies said...

Hooray for 3 yrs and thanks for writing this post. Love all these lessons and wise words. :)