Reasons I Believe My Marriage is 25 Years Strong and Counting

October 29, 2008 was my 25^th wedding anniversary. Having met my husband just 3 months before we married, this Valentines Day will be our 25^th Valentines Day together. My husband is not big on honoring days like this at all. In the 25 years we have been together, I may have received a total of 5 cards/boxes of candy for Valentines Day. I learned a long time ago that I need to not expect anything romantic in the traditional sense of the word from my husband, he is just not that type of man.If I want a present I am expected to buy it for myself. The funny thing is, my husband if far better at buying clothes and accessories for me that I am myself. My husband and I are very different; I like being around people he prefers to be by himself or with his immediate family only.

With us being so very different I tried to put on paper why I felt my husband and I have made it 25 years together. Using the letters in the word marriage here are reasons I believe we have made it this far.

M-Mutual Respect. No matter how ill or frustrated we might be with each other we always treat each other with respect in front of other people. No good comes from trashing or yelling at your spouse in front of other people. If you have something not so pleasant to say to your spouse say it when you are alone .

A-Accept that you will not change your spouse. To many times I hear people talk about how the things their spouse does aggravates them; things would be so much better if they would just change their ways. If you want your marriage to survive the long haul you need to learn to embrace your spouse they way they are.

R and R- Rest and relaxation together and apart. My husband loves to hunt and hates Florida. Getting up at 4 am and traveling to the woods before daylight is not something I prefer to do but I love vacationing in Florida. We both, however, love the Smokey Mountains. We encourage each other to take the trips that make us happy so he hunts and I vacation in Florida with the children. At least every other year we try to make it to the mountains together.

I-Inquiry about each others day, each and every day. As we sit down as the supper table each evening our conversion is about each other and how our day went. We include the children in the conversation as well.

A-Agree to disagree. You will not always agree on everything. You will do well to understand that you will disagree sometimes. When this happens you need to walk away from each other and cool down before finishing your conversation.

G-Give in at times. Just as you need to agree to disagree you need to give in to your spouse at times. Learn to compromise. Do some things your spouse wants to do even if its the last thing on the face of the earth that you want to do. Spending time with your spouse is more important than whether or not you like what you are doing.

E-Enjoy each other's company. Laugh together , cry together , have fun together. Live is short. 25 years have gone by very fast. I hope we have another 25 together , but only God knows the answer to that question.