Search Results for: blog by juno happily ever after amp going strong

A Blind Date Leads to Love and Years

I never went on a blind date, although I tried (unsuccessfully, I might add) to arrange one or two. But for one couple a blind date turned out to be just the beginning. That blind date was over 50 years ago. This year the couple, Nancy and James Hibbert of Australia, achieved something statistics show only about five percent achieve – they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. When asked the secret to a long and happy marriage the Hibberts, who live at Culburra Beach, replied ‘give and take.’ And really, that sums it up in a nutshell. That’s exactly the … Continue reading →

Celebrating Year 12: You and Me, So Happy Wii Be

Yesterday Wayne and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary. Hard to believe that twelve years ago, in a little church in Denver, we exchanged I Dos. In some respects it feels like just yesterday, in others it seems so much longer than that. (But in a good way.) Like many little girls, I had always dreamed of being married. I had never dreamed of a church wedding, though. I had never really dreamt about the ceremony at all, save for wearing a beautiful gown and standing at an altar with my groom looking dreamily into each other’s eyes. (Goes back … Continue reading →

Are You A Romantic?

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I have to confess, that for all my cynicism and pessimism, I’m a hopeless romantic. I love films like Sleepless in Seattle and Casablanca. I love the idea of being swept off my feet. I think love should be passionate and enticing, beautiful, funny and so much more. I think love is powerful when it’s fresh and new and exciting and I think it’s incredibly sexy ten years into the relationship when you share not only passion, but also history and the promise of more. Being romantic can be hard. I used to fall for people all the time. I’d … Continue reading →

Clearing Up Line Noise

Everyone needs to improve his or her communication skills. Communication is not easy. Talking might be, but actually exchanging information in a manner that both the sender and receiver are on the same wavelength is not. The reason communication isn’t easy is because we are emotional beings. Think about what needs to happen for your modem or Internet connection to successfully swap packets. You need a clear connection; even a small amount of line noise can slow down the reception or garble the transmission completely. Line noise occurs between people when our emotions get tangled up. Whether the emotion is … Continue reading →

The Three F’s Of Marriage

Have you ever heard of the three F’s? Well, that’s okay I’ll tell you about them right now. Recently I had a discussion with my mother that resulted in an epiphany for me. We were discussing something that had to do with my husband and she asked me if he was going to mind something we’d done in the yard and I commented, well if he did, we’d have to fight about it and figure it out. She frowned and looked very concerned and when I asked what was wrong, she said that she didn’t like conflict and she didn’t … Continue reading →

Do You Hate Telling Your Spouse No?

It doesn’t matter what the question is, but more often as not, when we have to tell our spouse no, we don’t like having to do it. It may be no I don’t have enough time to run that errand for you or no we don’t have enough money to buy a new washer, we’ll just have to settle for fixing the old one. Or even worse, no we can’t go to that event or this one because we’ve got other obligations here or there. Saying No is Hard When you’re the one to say no – you feel like … Continue reading →

The Passionate Era of Early Marriage

I was talking to a young woman yesterday who is getting married in June. She is excited about the wedding and bubbled over with the details of the wedding ceremony, her fiancé and more. Despite my own exhaustion, I couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm and her passion. It reminded me of when my husband and I were in the early stages of planning our wedding – the enthusiasm, the excitement and even the titillation of planning a life together and I started thinking of everything they have to look forward to. It’s Good to Remember It’s good for … Continue reading →

Love Notes: Do You Know How to Love Him?

I’m very lucky and while that may sound like a broad statement, it’s also very true. I’m extremely lucky in the fact that I can send flowers and chocolates and teddy bears to my husband at Valentine’s and he loves to get them. Over the years, I’ve sent him a dozen red roses with an adorable stuffed black bear wrapped around the vase. He still has the bear. Another year, I sent him a dozen deluxe chocolate covered strawberries in a rose box arrangement. Those were a huge hit. He even saved me two that were dipped in dark chocolate … Continue reading →

Learning to Love – In All The Right Ways

The title of this article might be a bit of a stretch and it’s definitely reaching some, but whether you have been dating for a few weeks, engaged for a few months, married for a handful of years or married for many years, there are ways to love your partner that promote the longevity of the relationship and the satisfaction you will both gain from it. So when you and your partner are making commitments to each other and learning to love each other in the best ways possible, remember these things: Friendship is far more important Avoid falling into … Continue reading →

What is Love?

I asked you why did you love your spouse yesterday and today I am asking you if you know what is love? The simple answer is love is an emotion. We experience many different emotions whether we label them or not and among those emotions are hatred, anger, compassion, grief, happiness, joy, love and more. Emotions are powerful and love is one of the most powerful emotions. For love, we will do the impossible, we will attempt the inconceivable and we will strive for the unthinkable. Love comes in many different flavors. There is the love that we call filial … Continue reading →