Before You React

I’ll bet we have all experienced the situation where our spouse says or does something, and we react and then wish we hadn’t been so quick to react. But it’s too late. So here are a couple of suggestions for next time you feel like reacting that way. Stop and think about the effect of your words and the choice of them. Is there a better way of phrasing them? Honesty is good in a marriage but it needs to be tempered with tact. Is there a better time to voice your concerns? The wrong words at the wrong time … Continue reading

Gambling and Marriage

I read something the other day which astounded me. Acceding to reports Australians spend $60 a week on lottery and lotto tickets. I wonder if it is any different in USA. Now, I don’t know about you but I can’t imagine taking that sort of amount out of our budget every week and still trying to get by. Yes, I know the logic is someone has to win it. That’s the sort of thinking that gets people sucked into buying tickets they can’t afford and putting money through slot machines in the hope of pulling of the jackpot. I’ve been … Continue reading

Focus on What You Have

In marriage it’s not about what you own, not even sometimes about what you do. It’s about being together and enjoying each other’s company. Since it was a beautiful sunny winter’s day, after lunch yesterday we bundled our little dog into the car and drove to one of the quiet beaches near us. It was not deserted as we’d expected but still only a few groups of people on the beach. Some brave souls were in the water. We were not two of them. We walked along the beach, sat for a while watching the teal water as they waves … Continue reading

Something You May Not Have Thought About

Today I’m going to talk about something you may not have thought about as affecting your marriage, but it is something I suspect a few of us are guilty of. I know I am. The issue is negative self talk. This was something that came up during marriage preparation classes for a young couple I know. When I talk about marriage preparation classes I’m not talking about those quick fix couple of hour’s courses that are supposed to give all the answers to how to prepare you for marriage or solve any problems in your marriage in one easy lesson. … Continue reading

Dealing with Irritations and Problems in Marriage

How important are the little things in marriage? They are very important. It is often the little things which when ignored can become monumental problems in marriage. The other day we were listening to 60s song on the local community radio station. And Mick made the comment it’s often the little things that end up over time being the straw that breaks the camel ‘back. The little things about that their spouse does that start to drive a husband or wife crazy. So of course, I asked whether there were things I do that annoy him. The two he mentioned … Continue reading

The First Year of Marriage

As I listen to people talk I find a lot of couples seem to have unrealistic ideas about marriage. Of course, I suspect many of these are perpetuated by romance novels, songs, and movies. One couple I know found the first twelve months or so of marriage very difficult. Every little thing seemed to aggravate the other person. This was largely because they were living in a small flat and she was not used to not having a space that was not completely her own. Another woman found it strange sharing a bed with another person. Personally I like waking … Continue reading

When You Love Someone -Part 2

I’m back, continuing to tell you about our together day. While Mick and I were listening to the radio yesterday in the early evening, a caller rang in to pass on her Christmas message. She wanted to say Merry Christmas to her husband and said she ‘after 43 years married she loved him exactly as she did when she first met him.’ Later a man rang in. He’d been engaged 13 years. No, that’s not mistyped -13 years before he married his obviously patient woman. They’ve now been married 30 years. Then later a woman rang to say Merry Christmas … Continue reading

Recipe for Disaster

Wet paws and a tile floor created a recipe for disaster. I landed with a massive crash. My eye blurred. My head started to swim. I couldn’t make up my min if I was going to faint or be sick or both. In the end I did neither. Mick helped me up and into a chair. From that point on he was wonderful as he got me dressed and to the hospital. All the time we were both praying it wasn’t going to be as bad as it looked. After all it’s only last year I broke my wrist on … Continue reading

A Short Summary of Life and Marriage

Ther is a legend that Ernest Hemingway, once wrote a whole story in six words. This sparked an idea where online magazine Smith decided to run a six-word memoir contest. Entries poured in by the thousands, some from established writers like Joyce Carol Oates, and others from writers who had never been published. It resulted in the Not Quite What I Was Planning Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure which I reviewed. As I read, some made me cry. Others made me laugh. Some left me confused. In an article by Mem Fox about writing a picture book, she … Continue reading

What Works on the Court and in Marriage

Playing tennis can teach us something about marriage. When Mick and I partner each other at tennis and the opposition drops a short ball I tend to say ‘up, up, up’. He always found it helpful when we played competition tennis. The number of ‘ups’ was indicative of how fast he needed to move on the court. Even though we’re playing social tennis now and enjoy it, we’re still out there to try and win. Throughout the game we encourage each one when one of us hits a good shot and encourage each other to keep going when either of … Continue reading