A word about Marriage:

Friends have often told me, that they envy my marriage. This is to me, the greatest complement one could ever receive.

My husband and I do have a wonderful marriage, and for that, I feel deeply blessed.
We have been together for almost two decades, and are still in that “Honeymoon” stage.

They keys to our success are as follows:

• We began as good friends.

• We made a life long commitment to each other that is rock solid.

• We trust each other completely. This is key. It is not a blind trust, but one that we have both worked hard to earn over the years.

• We created a vision for the future before we tied the knot. It was a detailed plan that we wrote out on paper. This provided a unified set of goals for which we would both aim.

• We manage our money with great care. We save for retirement, and put money away for the kids every month. We rarely used credit cards, and we pay off the balance every month. We research all potential purchases, and are careful to spend money wisely.

• We do not fight. Really. In all the years of our marriage, I can recall only two or three times that we ever raised our voices to one another. Instead, we prefer to use a boardroom approach to our disagreements. We think things out, and discuss options in a respectful, productive manner.
As a result, our home is a place of calm, of peace, and of unconditional love. It is a place filled with laughter and love. When we are in our home, we are sheltered from the storm.

• The last and most important part of the formula is that we openly express our love, honor and respect for each other every single day. I always remember to thank my husband for taking out the trash or balancing the checkbook. I make sure that he knows that his efforts to earn a living, and play with the children are continually appreciated, and he does the same for me.

• We NEVER try to cut each other down. We ALWAYS strive to build each other up.

In a nutshell, our formula for a successful marriage is built on the principles of: Friendship, Trust, Commitment, Respect, Planning, Responsible Choices, and big doses of Daily Affirmations.