If you are not yet married but would like to be, you may wonder if you now date or live with “the one” you should marry or, if not, how to spot this perfect partner. I received an email recently from someone wondering about this, too. Who is Your Perfect Partner? Your perfect partner adds something extra to your good enough life. He or she is not responsible for making it good enough...
Sarah posted a comment this morning on my Should I Stay Married for the Kids? post with a really great question. Here is what Sarah wrote: I love the idea that “An expectation is a premeditated resentment”; it has me thinking. On one hand I think it is a great idea, but on the other hand I feel that if we should “Never settle for being a doormat” then we have to have...
Today, I went to the cemetery to plant some flowers on the grave of my first husband. This would have been his 60th birthday, except he died 25 years ago. While I was there, I buried my fears. I put them in the dirt under some petunias and left them there in New Jersey. As I dug out the weeds and readied the soil for the beautiful pale yellow and dark red-purple flowers I had brought with me, I...
While you wait for the help with housework or errands you expected, listen for the caring words you expected, wait for company for something you expected to do together, mourn the expected gifts you never get, or wait for an expected hug or caress of the hand, you miss out on everything else your husband or wife wants to offer you as soon as you prepare your heart to receive it without a...
On days like this, when so many people fear for their lives and property, when so many have already lost theirs, I feel lucky. My life has its ordinary ups and downs, but I am safe, and I am not on my own. I feel so fortunate to be married on days like this. We have some minor damage from last night’s storm, but we got off very easy. Around us, at least one person has lost his life and...
I am a widow who got it right the second time. I have been sharing here since February 14, 2006 what I learned from that experience and from positive psychology, marriage research, and my training as a marriage educator.
