At Our Age Thongs Are Not An Option!

I was reading an article in the paper about the longevity of some marriages.  A professor at one of the university is doing a study on what are the key elements in marriages that survive over 30 years.  He said that some attention is given to the rising divorce rate but little is given to the actually rising numbers of those who remain with the same person over 30 years.

Sure you always hear about that anecdotal story of the couple who stuck it out only to divorce after 35 years of marriage...but those really are rare.  And there is the divorces that happen once that last child leaves for college and the empty nest has to be dealt with.

Back to the article...the professor said that many of his student after taking his class say, I'm not going to marry, it is too much work.  I find that sad.  Yes marriage is a lot of work.  But as with all work, when you work hard for something there is a satification that you cannot get by any other means than the hard work itself.  Same with marriage.  It is the kind of hard work that brings on a satisfaction that you can take to the bank.

So, you wonder what this photo has to do with marriage?  My list of what has made my marriage last is....

1.  Love. 

2.  Humor (thus the card.  Greg has given me some beautiful, loving cards over the years...heart felt...every so often I get one that makes me laugh out loud.  Thongs are not an option for me. When he asks, I laugh out loud.  So when he gave me this card...well, I laughed out loud, felt loved, and my heart felt light.  Humor can get you through a bad day at work, a tough day in the marriage, a gloomy day outside.

3.  The belief that you are married to the best person in the world for you...so you never look around just in case you made a mistake.

4.  Conversation. Not just how was your day...but politcal, moral, freaky news

5.  Making time.  Time just for us time

6.  Hanging on to each other during tough times

7.  Saying regularly, "I am so lucky you found me."

8.  Agreeing to Disagree

9.  Space...it gives you time to develop your own interests and thus you are an facinating person.

10.  Love...circled back around from #1.  The emotional, caring, lustful kind of love that acknowledges that sometimes you don't feel like it but when you do it is perfect.