Best Marriage Advice

Understand that when you get married, you have to work to make that marriage successful. It's easy to fall back and slack off, but you can't do that if you want to stay happily married.

Two of the most important parts of marriage are trust and intimacy.

I read somewhere that the happiest long time married couples (over 20 years) had sex 3-5 times a week. Aim for that and you have a very good chance to be successful.

Remember that there will be bumps in the road. How you deal with those bumps is the key to whether your marriage will make it through.

I've been with my husband for 23 years and we've had our ups and downs, but I can honestly say that we are more in love today than when we got married. We are each other's best friend and we say "I love you" several times a day and every time we end a phone call with each other. We make each other our priority. Every morning when I am making my breakfast to take to work, I fix his breakfast and set up the coffee pot so all he has to do is turn it on when he gets up. He makes me dinner every single night. Even if he doesn't happen to be hungry.

:flowerforyou:

This is awesome!

1. If you ever fear your spouse might cheat/leave you, treat them in a way that makes them want to stay (because chances are the fear is in your head and not reality anyway).
2. Don't have constant "headaches". Would it really kill ya to "take one for the team" now and again?
3. Be cautious about opposite sex friendships. I'm not saying they can't be safe, but be cautious.
4. Don't tell all your friends about your issues with your spouse. Tell your spouse.
5. Always kiss goodnight. Even when you're mad. Kiss goodnight.
6. Never intentionally make your spouse feel jealous.
7. Avoid passive-agressive behavior. If you've got an issue with them, tell them.
8. If you can't live with any part of the person you're about to marry (bad habits, etc.), don't marry them thinking it will get better, change, etc.
9. Be careful what you say and how you say it. Words can be a weapon, and once released, cannot be retrieved. Be cautious about using words like "divorce", "hate", etc.
10. Use the words "always" and "never" sparingly, as in "you always forget to take the trash out", "you never want to do what I want to do".
11. When conflict arises, start your sentences with the word "I", and not the word "You". "I feel like you don't care about me when you don't make time for me" comes off a lot better than "YOU never make time for me." Same information, but the first is generally better received.

I could go on for days, but I'll leave it at that.

Continue to treat your partner as if you're still "dating".

Every once in a while my man brings me flowers, or chocolates. Every time I go shopping anywhere with cards, I look to see if there are any that remind me of him. I hide them in his car randomly. Sometimes we ditch the kids and go out to a movie. We hold hands.

I'll wear something sexy and seduce him---do something a little more exotic than the standard blow jobs and steak dinners he gets regularly for having the good sense to be with me.

These are the things that were lacking in my failed marriage. (besides that he doesn't beat me. That's advice too. Don't beat your spouse.)
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The other day I woke up in the morning, long after my partner had gone to work in the dark hours of the day. I put on a cup of coffee and went to weigh myself (as is my routine) and my scale wouldn't work. The digital display was glowing a bit, but it couldn't read it, so I flipped on the bathroom light to see what was going on

the display had been covered up by a piece of paper that read "PERFECT" (my profile picture now).

Those little things keep "the spark" alive.

Don't take your person for granted,

neither allow yourself to be taken for granted.

The other day I woke up in the morning, long after my partner had gone to work in the dark hours of the day. I put on a cup of coffee and went to weigh myself (as is my routine) and my scale wouldn't work. The digital display was glowing a bit, but it couldn't read it, so I flipped on the bathroom light to see what was going on

the display had been covered up by a piece of paper that read "PERFECT" (my profile picture now).

Those little things keep "the spark" alive.

Always, always make sure your boyfriend does NOT attend the wedding or follow you on your honeymoon. Ruins the moment.

This goes for all of the boyfriends. Not only does it ruin the wedding, but then they all know about each other. It's a mess.

separate bathrooms...