Marriage Tips

Kiss her on the neck and pat her on the butt. Not for anything special. Do it when you walk through the kitchen, and she is making dinner. Walk up behind her and hug her and kiss her on the neck. And pat that butt when you walk away. Little acts of random affection go a long way. And every now and then, kiss her like you used to kiss the girls in high school. All wet and sloppy and way too much tongue! But just every now and then! A little of that goes a long way.

From now on, there is no mine or yours. It is all ours. WE have a mortgage; WE have two cars; WE have a dog. Any debts one had are now ours. You should both understand the finances of this partnership. You can both spend the money as needed but you should talk to the other before making certain purchases. And you will know when that time comes. When your finger hovers above the keyboard and shakes a bit before hitting that BUY NOW button, you might want to talk to your partner about that purchase.

Now that you are married you are going to have to do things you don’t want to do. It’s part of the deal. If it’s a family event that your wife must attend, you are going to miss that game on TV and go with her. Though she would much rather stay at home and do anything else, she needs to go to that company party with him. And when she insists that he goes with her to some high school reunion where he knows no one, he goes. It’s part of the deal. And besides, maybe she wants him to go so she can show off the good-looking successful man she snagged to all her old classmates. Keep telling yourself that.

Don’t ever forget that your spouse is a regular human being and should always be treated as such. You thank the stranger that holds the door open for you when you enter the bowling alley. Just because a person is married to you, they don’t forfeit their right to be treated in the same fashion. The little courtesies that make life pleasant for everyone you deal with daily are very important to the person you plan to spend the rest of your life with. And it will make the rest of your life much more pleasant also!

Throughout your marriage, your spouse will do certain things that will drive you crazy! Just little things like never knowing how to pack liquids in her carry-on that won’t trigger a full body search at the airport. Or always making you wait and stare at your watch as she gets ready to go somewhere. All the while proclaiming, “I’m just about ready” or “Just putting my shoes on”. Those two phrases guarantee another 15 minutes before you make it out the door. At first you will try to correct these behaviors. It doesn’t work. Get used to it. Just tell yourself that if you were watching this on a sitcom, you would be laughing! Or just think about how beautiful she will look when she finally is ready to leave. If that fails, think about the list of things you do that drive her crazy. We all have our little quirks. I personally can’t think of any right now, but I might have one or two.